North Kurdistan delegation seeks joint projects with Rojava

The North Kurdistan delegation held a press conference in front of the Qamishlo District Directorate building on Thursday, following meetings with Kurdish politician Ilham Ahmed and the Qamishlo District Directorate.

Qamishlo District Director Jihan Hessam welcomed the visiting delegation, expressing her pleasure at hosting the group, which includes representatives of local administration councils and municipalities affiliated with the DEM Party. She conveyed greetings from Qamishlo to Mardin, Nusaybin, Van, Batman, Urfa, Istanbul, and Ankara.

For her part, Devrim Demir, co-mayor of Mardin Metropolitan Municipality and co-spokesperson for the Local Administrations Diplomacy Committee, expressed her pleasure at visiting Rojava. She explained that the delegation consists of five representatives of local administrations and entered Rojava yesterday, Wednesday, through the Tel Abyad border crossing. The delegation began its official meetings today, which will continue for several days with local administrations and civil society organizations.

Devrim Demir noted that the delegation is highly interested in learning about the local administration model in Rojava and how its institutions are organized. She explained that recent political developments and the integration phase have raised questions for the delegation about how Rojava’s various communities and institutions are organized, as well as the changes taking place within its institutions.

She said the meetings aim to provide answers to these questions and gain a closer understanding of the reality of the institutions, allowing the two sides to explore ways of future cooperation between North Kurdistan and Rojava, particularly in the field of local administration, and to implement joint projects and activities based on the required needs and foundations.

Devrim Demir stressed that gaining insight into the frameworks of local administration and the work of its institutions is of great importance to the delegation, as it will help clarify mechanisms for joint work and pave the way for developing cooperation between the two sides.

She pointed out that Rojava’s experiences in local administration are highly valuable to them, while North Kurdistan’s 25 years of experience in this field can provide significant strength and expertise to local administrations in Rojava.

She added that the conditions of war may not have provided sufficient opportunities to establish a foundation for local administration in Rojava in line with social aspirations and needs. However, the new phase and emerging opportunities could allow the strength and expertise gained from North Kurdistan’s experiences to be transferred to Rojava.

Concluding her remarks, Devrim Demir thanked the institutions that hosted the delegation, expressing hope that institutions from Rojava would be welcomed in North Kurdistan in the coming period.

She also called on the authorities and relevant parties in Syria and Turkey to open the border crossings to facilitate movement and crossings between North Kurdistan and Rojava.

Following the statement, the delegation headed to the city of Derik, where it is expected to visit a number of institutions there.

Following the statement, the delegation headed to the city of Dêrik, where it is expected to visit a number of institutions.

The North Kurdistan delegation includes Devrim Demir, co-mayor of Mardin Metropolitan Municipality and co-spokesperson for the Local Administrations Diplomacy Committee; Safiye Akdağ, co-mayor of Yenişehir Municipality in Amed Province; Sevim Bejiji, co-mayor of Farqin Municipality in Amed Province; Belkiza Beştaş Ebuzdemir, co-mayor of Tetwan Municipality; and Ruken Demirer, a member of the Local Administrations Diplomacy Committee.

ANHA