Aleppo Governor Azzam al-Gharib and the mayor of the Turkish city of Gaziantep, Fatma Şahin, signed a twinning agreement on Thursday aimed at expanding cooperation in areas such as infrastructure, public services, and urban development.
The agreement was presented as a step toward both technical collaboration and symbolic reconciliation between two historically connected cities.
Describing the occasion as "an important day for the people of Aleppo and the residents of Gaziantep", al-Gharib noted that the cities "share historical bonds over 400 years and were part of a unified administrative organization", as reported by Enab Baladi.
He praised Gaziantep's development in fields such as transportation, agriculture, water, and public parks, saying the partnership "will build something new and different for Aleppo, and a one-of-a-kind model". The first phase of cooperation will include joint workshops between the Gaziantep Municipality and Aleppo Governorate.
Aleppo City Council President Muhammad Ali al-Aziz added that the agreement covers rehabilitation of infrastructure and superstructure, and includes mutual exchange of expertise across the economy, industry, and agriculture. Joint committees are expected to be formed to coordinate implementation, although no fixed timeline has been announced.
The agreement comes against a backdrop of layered and historic ties between the two cities.
During the Syrian civil war, Gaziantep - just 100 kilometres north of Aleppo - became a central hub for refugees and NGOs supporting opposition-held areas. By 2019, the city had absorbed over half a million Syrians fleeing violence, becoming one of the largest Syrian diaspora centres outside the country.
A century earlier, the movement of people flowed in the opposite direction. In 1915, Gaziantep - then known as Aintab - had a significant Armenian population, many of whom were driven south during the Armenian Genocide in forced marches across the desert.
Aleppo became one of the primary destinations for survivors. By 1925, the city's Armenian population had grown to more than 210,000, turning Aleppo into a key centre of Armenian diaspora life in the Levant
Though Turkey refuses to acknowledge Ottoman atrocities during the Armenian genocide, the emphasis of the shared heritage and future development of Aleppo and Gaziantep reflects an attempt to reframe cross-border relations in terms of reconstruction and future cooperation.
"We are today bridging the gap between the past and the present to write history anew," al-Gharib said, expressing hope that Aleppo can benefit from Gaziantep's post-war urban and economic renewal.
The agreement also reflects the broader warming of ties between Turkey and Syria.
Since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad and the formation of the current Syrian government, Damascus has signed multiple agreements with Ankara across economic, security, and service sectors.
Turkey is now regarded as one of the Syrian state's closest international partners, a significant shift from earlier years of the conflict when Ankara cut all ties with the country during the rule of the Assad regime.