News from the Middle East Section

SPEAKING about the 1st Retreat, Mr. Ihsan Ikizer from UCLG MEWA, expressed his strong appreciation that such an international forum could finally be materialized.  He added that the program was very significant to synergize all UCLG from different regions. “In order to interact intensively,” said Mr. Ikizer, “we regularly need a face to face communication, not only through email and telephone.”

With regards to the crucial issue that has been discussed during the retreat, Mr. Ikizer added that “the local authorities in each country need to get more tasks, more responsibilities, more authorities and of course more financial resources. In order to implement tasks, we need decentralization. Some countries have managed to give more decentralization, but some haven’t.”

Regarding his commitment towards the South-South Bulletin, Mr. Ikizer welcomes this initiative. He thinks that we are connected to each other so we can’t ignore problem in different regions, as they can affect others.