İstanbul Mayor Responds to Erdoğan’s Invitation: Of Course, I will Attend it

Click to read the article in Turkish

Metropolitan Mayor of İstanbul Ekrem İmamoğlu attended the "Stationery Set Distribution" event jointly organized by the Metropolitan Municipality and İstanbul Provincial Directorate of National Education today (September 10).

Speaking at the Yenibosna Emir Sultan Secondary School in İstanbul, Mayor İmamoğlu reminded his audience that İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality is not the institution authorized for education and training. "Schools will be our priority", İmamoğlu indicated and added,

"I know that the Ministry of National Education and İstanbul Governorship are working hard. In the name of working in synchrony, we will make our all well-intentioned initiatives with our Governorship and Ministry."

Emphasizing that they pay particular importance to kindergartens and daycare centers in the city, İmamoğlu said,

"I know it very well that when we increase the number of kindergartens, where our mothers trust us with their children, our mothers will begin to work, they will produce and contribute to their own family economy."

'Maximum dialogue with all levels of state'

As he was about to leave the school, İmamoğlu was asked by a journalist, "President [and ruling AKP Chair Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan has invited 30 metropolitan mayors to Ankara. Will you go there?".

İmamoğlu answered, "Of course. We have an individual request after all. Dear President is making an invitation to all metropolitan mayors to a meeting, I think, for a discussion on problems of the municipalities.

"We will, of course, attend it. We will, of course, have the opportunity to share the problems of our city and, in fact, the problems of our our all metropolises with him. As I have said, we are in favor of a maximum dialogue with all levels of state." (RT/SD)

* Photograph: İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality