On 13 February, municipal representatives will meet for the first time at the Federal Foreign Office to discuss the current state and future prospects of German-Turkish municipal partnerships.

Niels Annen, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, and Dr Ralf Heinen, Deputy Mayor of the City of Cologne and member of the executive committee of the German Section of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) will open the conference at 11.00 a.m. The Federal Federal Foreign Office and the German Section of the CEMR have invited representatives from nearly 100 municipalities that are twinned with a municipality in Turkey.

There are nearly 100 German-Turkish town twinnings. The first was established in 1967 between the cities of Böblingen in Land Baden-Württemberg and Bergama (ancient Pergamon) in western Turkey; the most recent was launched in 2016 between the city of Herne in Land North Rhine-Westphalia and the Beşiktaş district and municipality of Istanbul.

There will be three sessions, during which participants will discuss how foreign policy and domestic and municipal policy influence one another, ideas for successful municipal partnerships, and ways to provide additional support.