Karachi: A sister-town agreement has been signed between Town Municipal Corporation Gulshan-e-Iqbal and two municipalities in Trkiye's Kastamonu province - Inebolu and Araç - aimed at expanding municipal cooperation and facilitating the exchange of expertise in urban development.The agreement was signed by Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town Chairman Dr Fawad Ahmed and Dr Kamal Aydin, adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and president of the Ibn Sina Institute Trkiye, at a ceremony attended by Karachi Metropolitan Corporation opposition leader Advocate Saifuddin, JI East district chief Naeem Akhtar and other elected representatives and municipal officials.Under the agreement, the three municipalities will cooperate in urban development, city planning, smart-city initiatives, modern municipal services, technology and the exchange of experiences. The partnership is also expected to provide opportunities for the local authorities to learn from one another's development models and successful municipal practice s.Dr Kamal Aydin said the sister-town agreement could lay the foundation for a brighter future for Gulshan-e-Iqbal. He said assistance would be provided to help transfer Trkiye's urban development and municipal experiences to the town.He said the longstanding fraternal relationship between Pakistan and Trkiye was well known around the world and that the friendship was now being strengthened at the municipal level as well. He also spoke of his association with Lahore and said he was inspired by the personalities of Allama Iqbal and Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi.Dr Fawad Ahmed said Trkiye had made considerable progress in municipal governance and urban development, and described the agreement with the two Turkish municipalities as an important opportunity for the town.He said Turkish municipalities played an important role in providing citizens with basic services at different stages of their lives, adding that Pakistan's local governments could learn much from the Turkish model.Dr Fawad said the agreement represented a new concept of 'sister towns', as opposed to the more familiar idea of twin cities. He said it was the first agreement of its kind involving sister towns and friend smart cities from Pakistan, Trkiye, Azerbaijan and other D-8 countries.He said the Ibn Sina Institute had supported the initiative and that a health park would also be established in Gulshan-e-Iqbal under the institute's auspices.Referring to the need for empowered and autonomous local governments, Dr Fawad said an effective municipal system could help address many of Pakistan's problems. He cited the 2001 local-government system as an example, saying Karachi had demonstrated its potential when the city government was given greater powers.He said the town was seeking to lead by example among Karachi's 25 towns through the new sister-town initiative.'The benefits of this partnership will, God willing, extend beyond Gulshan-e-Iqbal and become an example for Karachi and Pakistan,' he said, describing the agreement as a potential milestone on the road to development.Dr Fawad said the partnership would help make the town more attractive, modern and efficient in terms of municipal services, while efforts were also under way to develop it as a replicable municipal model for Karachi and the country.KMC opposition leader Advocate Saifuddin and JI East district chief Naeem Akhtar welcomed the agreement, describing cooperation between the town and the Turkish municipalities as a positive development.Officials said the agreement would broaden institutional links between the municipal authorities of the two countries and create opportunities for the exchange of expertise and possible joint development initiatives, ultimately helping provide residents with modern and improved municipal services.