Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Emin Ay, DBB Council Co-Spokesperson Demet Ceylan and council members met with the Armenian delegation at an event organised by the Middle East Industrialists and Businesspeople Association (OSGİAD) at a hotel. The delegation, which included businesspeople and journalists, had travelled to Diyarbakır as part of an EU-supported project and held meetings aimed at developing economic ties.

Speaking at the event, Co-Mayor Emin Ay welcomed the delegation and OSGİAD representatives on behalf of the Metropolitan Municipality.

Co-Mayor Ay: “We do not see this as just an ordinary meeting”

Co-Mayor Ay said they were pleased to welcome the delegation from Armenia to the ancient city of Amed and to be part of the gathering. He stressed that they did not regard it as just an ordinary meeting, adding that they believed it would help strengthen relations between peoples.

He said they considered the Armenian delegation guests in their own home and city, and expressed the hope that the visitors would also come to see Amed as their own home and city.

“Relations should be developed in all their dimensions”

Co-Mayor Ay said local authorities would be pleased to do everything within their power to strengthen relations between peoples. He stressed that these relations and the gathering should not be viewed solely in economic terms.

He said he believed that developing relations across all areas would bring mutual benefits and make a positive contribution, adding that they should be strengthened accordingly.

“Developing relations is important”

Emphasising the importance of developing relations between peoples while remaining mindful of the suffering of the past, without forgetting it or allowing it to be forgotten, Co-Mayor Ay said that this suffering should not stand in the way of closer relations.

He expressed the hope that relations could be broadened and diversified to help remove these barriers.