B40 Tirana Summit, which was the third Mayoral Level Summit of the B40 Network, took place in the City of Tirana- from 29 to 31 January 2024, with the participation of 27 local governments under the theme of “Building Urban Resilience and Responding to Crisis”. At the Summit, the presidency of the Network was handed over by the Mayor of Athens, Mr. Haris Doukas to the Mayor of Tirana, Mr. Erion Veliaj for a one-year tenure. During the Summit, several activities were organized such as “Interventions of Mayors regarding the B40 Network and the Summit Theme”, “Two Thematic Panels”, “Working Group Meetings”, “Bilateral Meetings” and “Networking Events”.  Along with these activities, the “B40 Network Organizational Structure and Working Principles Document”, which is the charter of the Network, and the “B40 City Diplomacy Strategy Document” were adopted by the Mayors of member cities as a result of the institutionalization endeavors of the B40 Network.

B40 Tirana Summit was inaugurated with the “Welcome Reception” where the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania, Mr. Igli Hasani gave a speech alongside Mayor Veliaj on 29 January 2024. The new members of the Network were also officially welcomed with a welcoming ceremony.

On 30 January 2024, the Summit started with the “Opening Ceremony” and a short movie about the 2 years of the B40 Network was displayed to the guests. Afterwards, the President of the Republic of Albania, Mr. Bajram Begaj gave a welcoming speech as the guest of honor alongside Mayor Veliaj. The Mayor of Istanbul and the Founding President of The B40 Network Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu and the Deputy Mayor of Athens Mr. Paris Charlafitis also addressed the guests. The Summit continued with the guest panel “European Perspective of the Region: Learning from Cities and Strengthening Networks” with the participation of Ms. Federica Mogherini, Rector of the College of Europe, Ms. Anouch Toranian, Deputy Mayor of Paris, and Mr. André Sobczak, Secretary General of Eurocities, moderated by Ms. Romina Kuko, Chairwoman of the Tirana Municipal Council. Afterwards, Mr. Barbaros Büyüksağnak, Permanent Secretary of the B40 Network, made a presentation about the newly adopted B40 Organizational Structure and Working Principles Document and the B40 City Diplomacy Strategy Document to the member cities. This was followed by the Signing Ceremony of the B40 Tirana Summit Declaration. Furthermore, Interventions by the B40 Mayors and the Heads of Delegation session took place, where the participants shared their visions on the Network and best practices of their cities. This was followed by the establishment of the B40 Executive Committee, which is a new body founded on the basis of the Organizational Structure and Working Principles, aiming to create a more systematic leadership mechanism. The Working Group meetings were also held, where the last 2 years of the Working Group activities were discussed and the new leaders declared their visions and  working plans for the new term. At the end of the day, the Presidency Handover Ceremony took place at the Gala Dinner in Presidential Palace of Albania, where the Mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas handed over the presidency to the Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, and the one-year tenure of Mayor Velaij officially started. Ms. Zeynep Neyza Akçabay, Deputy Secretary General of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, attended the ceremony on behalf of the B40 Founding President, Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu, and Mr. Haris Doukas presented the B40 Presidency Symbol to the new B40 President, Mr. Erion Veliaj. Mr Arbjan Mazniku, Albanian Minister of State for Local Government, and Ms Mirela Kumbaro, Albanian Minister of Tourism and Environment, attended the Gala Dinner and gave a short speech.

On the last day of the B40 Tirana Summit, an expert panel, “Building Urban Resilience and Responding to Crises”, was held as the final activity of the Summit. The panel was moderated by Frida Pashako, Deputy Mayor of Tirana, with the participation of Arbjan Mazniku, who gave information about the urban transformation of Tirana. Thus, the B40 Tirana Summit, which aimed to strengthen the collaboration between Balkan cities, came to an end.