Within the framework of Marmara Urban Forum (MARUF25), a bilateral meeting was held between Mustafa Bozbey, President of Marmara Municipalities Union (MMU) and Mayor of Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, and Dubravko Bilić, President of the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS) and Mayor of Ludbreg, Croatia on 1 October 2025. The meeting was also attended by Kelmend Zajazi, NALAS Executive Director, and Elton Stafa, NALAS Programme Director, M. Cemil Arslan, MMU Secretary General, and Burcuhan Şener, MMU Director of International Affairs.

Both Presidents emphasized the strong and mutually beneficial cooperation between MMU and NALAS, underlining the importance of continuing and further strengthening this partnership. The discussion also highlighted NALAS’ valuable contribution to Marmara Urban Forum (MARUF), particularly through its partnership in the 5th Forum of Women Mayors in South-East Europe, the sessions on “Local Governments Associating: Democracy, Diplomacy, Solidarity”, “Social Mapping: Towards Evidence-Based Local Social Inclusion”, and “Resilient Local Governance in Wartime: Reform, Decentralization, and Reconstruction in Ukraine.”

President Bozbey stressed that empowering local governments is crucial for advancing local democracy. In this regard, the solidarity and international support provided by networks such as NALAS play a vital role.

Both sides also underlined the importance of fostering international cooperation among local governments—extending beyond mayors and municipal staff to include initiatives that connect communities. Building stronger ties among young people and promoting social and economic collaboration at the local level were identified as key priorities for future joint efforts.