Izmir Metropolitan Mayor Tunç Soyer took the first step for establishing the United Mediterranean concept, one of the first-hundred day goals announced by the Mayor Soyer before the March 31 elections.

The Mayor Soyer sent a letter to the local governors in Barcelona, Beirut, Alexandria, Marseilles, Thessaloniki and Venice and offered them mutual cooperation for improving economic and cultural relationships of the Mediterranean cities. Soyer’s letter reads as follows: “Empowering our city as a port settlement is one of the fundamental tools of achieving our two primary goals about improving welfare in Izmir and distributing this welfare equally. Partnerships to be established with the other Mediterranean cities are the key elements of achieving these two goals”.

Spirit of United Mediterranean
Tunç Soyer addressed his letter to Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, Beirut Mayor Jamal Itani, Alexandria Governor Dr. Abd El Aziz Konsowa, Marseilles Mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin, Thessaloniki Mayor Yannis Butaris and Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro and mentioned his responsibility to leverage Izmir’s position as a natural port. Mr. Soyer highlighted that economic and cultural multidimensional and bilateral cooperation is required in the Mediterranean for fulfilling this responsibility. The Mayor Tunç Soyer described all to the mayors of six Mediterranean cities as a “gesture for future cooperation with the spirit of Mediterranean league” and wrote his letter as follows:
“Having a population of four and half million people, Izmir is the largest city in the west coast of Turkey and also the third largest city of the country. The city, enriched with its roots expanding to the West of Anatolia, has been one of the main ports of the Mediterranean for centuries. Our city has witnessed diversity of cultures in this region that functions as a bridge between the west and east due to historical reasons. Just like other Mediterranean ports, Izmir Port has not only functioned as a center of international trade but also has facilitated harmonic coexistence of several cultures. This diversity continues to be the pillar of daily life in Izmir, a city that harbors people coming from all around Turkey and from other Mediterranean and European countries. I believe, as the Metropolitan Mayor of Izmir, one of my primary responsibilities is to leverage our cities position as a natural port. Without a doubt, this requires multidimensional and bilateral economic and cultural cooperation of the Mediterranean cities.”

Soyer concluded the letter sent to the six mayors as follows: “Please consider this letter as a gesture for our future cooperation with the spirit of Mediterranean league. I sincerely hope to meet with you as soon as possible for discussing our possible dialogue and cooperation in the future”.