The Yoruk Turkmen Municipalities Forum was held in Antalya with the participation of local and foreign mayors.

The Yoruk Turkmen Municipalities Forum was held within the scope of the International Yoruk Turkmen Festival, which will be held for the 4th time this year in Antalya.

Local and foreign mayors came together at the forum organized by the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality in a hotel in the city center.

Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Muhittin Böcek said in his speech at the opening of the forum that they started the Yoruk Turkmen Municipalities Forum with the participation of 21 mayors and representatives from abroad and 26 from within the country.

Expressing that they aim to strengthen cultural cooperation between municipalities, Böcek noted that they will take the festival, which they have been organizing for 4 years, one step further with the forum.

Expressing his belief that the number of members will increase further in the future, Böcek continued his words as follows:

"Yörük Turkmen culture, whose roots extend to mountains, nomads and plateaus and are based on the principles of freedom, solidarity and harmony with nature, carries not only the traces of the past for us but also the inspiration of the future. This forum will be an important platform for the protection, preservation and advancement of this valuable culture with a common development vision among all our municipalities. The Yörük Turkmen Municipalities Forum will strengthen inter-municipal solidarity and development through diplomacy with our common culture that transcends borders in a wide geography extending from Anatolia to the world." Mayor Böcek stated that every step to be taken at the forum will increase information sharing between municipalities, institutionalize the spirit of solidarity with joint projects and draw a roadmap that will transfer cultural heritage to young generations.

Burdur Mayor Ali Orkun Ercengiz and Çolpon-Ata Municipality Secretary General Sartbayev Talgat from Kyrgyzstan were elected as vice presidents of the Yörük Turkmen Municipalities Forum.