Iran’s Khoy and Turkey’s Konya become sister cities

Urmia, IRNA – The Chairman of the Islamic City Council of Khoy Sajjad Chehre-Ara said that a sister city agreement has been signed between Khoy in West Azerbaijan Province and Konya in Turkey.

The agreement was signed with the aim of developing cultural and tourism cooperation and exchanging experiences in the field of urban management, Chehre-Ara told IRNA.

Stressing the commonalities between the two cities, he said it is rooted in the shared heritage of Shams Tabrizi (1185–1248) and Rumi (1207–73), and paves the ground for developing spiritual tourism, holding joint cultural events, and expanding strategic urban cooperation.

Born in northwest Iran, Shams Tabrizi was a spiritual instructor of Jaleleddin Mohammad Balkhi, better known as Mowlana or Rumi, the great Iranian poet.

He also emphasized the formation of joint expert working groups in areas such as urban management, transportation, cultural heritage, and tourism, holding regular meetings between senior officials of the two cities, and drafting a four-year joint cooperation program as necessary requirements.

The agreement was signed by Bahman Reza-Nezhad, Deputy Mayor of Khoy, and Mustafa Uzbaş, Deputy Mayor of Konya Metropolitan Municipality and in the presence of the representatives of the Asian Mayors Forum (AMF) in Konya.