A high-level local government delegation, led by Mathias De Clercq, Mayor of Ghent and the President of Eurocities, which is one of Europe’s leading platforms for intercity cooperation, of which Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) is a member; and Tomislav Tomašević, Mayor of Zagreb and the President of the B40 Network paid an official visit to Istanbul on 25–26 February 2026.
The visit was carried out to reaffirm their strong commitment to local democracy and to convey messages of solidarity to Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu. The delegation also included the Mayor of Oslo Eirik Lae Solberg, the Mayor of Arezzo Gianni Rossi, the Deputy Mayor of Paris Jean-Luc Romero, the Director General for International Relations of the Municipality of Madrid Jose Francisco Antonaya, and André Sobczak, Secretary General of Eurocities.
As part of the programme, the delegation met at the IMM headquarters in Saraçhane with IMM Acting Mayor Nuri Aslan and Ms. Dilek Kaya İmamoğlu, the spouse of Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. The meeting underlined the importance of solidarity among cities.
Following the programme in Saraçhane, the delegation proceeded to Silivri.
The visit concluded with a dinner hosted by Acting Mayor Nuri Aslan at Emirgan Beyaz Köşk.
