Sarajevo and Izmir to Become Sister Cities

Cemil Tugay, Mayor of Karşıyaka Municipality, Mehmet Atilla Bysak, Deputy President of the Karşıyaka Municipal Council and member of the Izmir City Council, and Hasan Šehović, President of the World Diaspora Alliance of Bosnia and Herzegovina, were guests of the City of Sarajevo at the City Hall today. The visit took place within the framework of bilateral cooperation between the City of Sarajevo and the City of Izmir, following a visit by a delegation of the City of Sarajevo to the City of Izmir, which included Deputy Chairperson of the City Council Mirela Džehverović and city councilors Danijela Šahat and Alem Logo.

After the delegation of the City of Sarajevo stayed in Izmir, where they met with the city's leaders and agreed to establish cooperation between the City of Sarajevo and the City of Izmir in various fields, the Mayor of Sarajevo, Benjamina Karić, sent a Letter of Intent to the City of Izmir for the establishment of sister city relations and a draft Twinning Agreement. In this regard, the delegation of the City of Izmir, which is on a multi-day visit to BiH, returned the visit to the City of Sarajevo today. The delegation of the City of Izmir was received by the Mayor of Sarajevo, Benjamina Karić, with her deputy Haris Bašić, Chairperson of the City Council Jasmin Ademović with deputies Mirela Džehverović and Dragan Stevanović, and city councilors Danijela Šahat and Alem Logo.

The result of these activities is the final harmonized text of the Agreement, which will be considered by the Sarajevo City Council at its session on December 1, 2021, and by the Izmir City Council at its session on December 15 this year, and their decisions will formalize the proposed Agreement.

The Agreement regulates cooperation in the fields of economy, i.e., investments, culture, education, sports, and joint applications for cross-border cooperation projects for EU funds, in which Izmir has significant experience. Further steps and activities following the signing of the Agreement have also been agreed upon.

The proposed twinning is a continuation of the good relations between the City of Sarajevo and the City of Izmir, which also stem from the fact that a large number of residents of BiH origin live in the City of Izmir. The Honorary Consulate of Bosnia and Herzegovina, founded by Kemal Baysak, Honorary Citizen of the City of Sarajevo, has been operating in Izmir for a long time.