Abdel Karim Al-Zubeidi, President of the Association of Palestinian Local Authorities (APLA) chaired the presidential meeting of City Diplomacy Committee at UCLG-MEWA, as a president of the committee, which was held via zoom with the attendance and participation of the co-presidents of the committee, the Secretary General of UCLG-MEWA; Mohammad Duman, and the Deputy Secretary General of the Turkish Association of Local Authorities, Cayhan Ozom, as well as APLA's Executive Director; Eng. Abdallah Anati.
APLA's President, Al-Zubeidi clarified during his opening speech the importance of the role played by UCLG as it enhances the capacities of local communities in development by developing the relationships of cities with one another, developing exchange programs, implementing joint projects, and activating decentralized cooperation initiatives. He pointed out the particularity of that for Palestine, as the Palestinian local authorities managed to convey political and social messages, which have always led to the mobilization of support and condemning the Israeli racist practices against the members of our Palestinian people.
The presidential meeting was moderated by APLA's Executive Director Eng. Anati, during which a policy paper concerning the committee was discussed and endorsed, in addition to the former activity reports of the committee, and the proposed action plan for the next three years. 12 new members were accepted, who have submitted their membership application during the organization's annual meeting. In addition, the echo-system of the committee's stakeholders including local authorities, international organizations and institutions, local communities and the private sector were discussed along with the key institutions to work with in order to achieve the committees' goals.