During his visit to Ankara, Ambassador Bessler also met with the representatives of the National Reference Groups in Lebanon and Syria and emphasised the importance of the localisation process in the humanitarian field and highlighted the importance of local leadership, access to quality financing and strategic partnerships.
During his visit to Ankara, Ambassador Manuel Bessler also held consultations on the coordination between civil society, public institutions, donor agencies, donor organisations and international organisations in Turkey, as well as global and national efforts under the Grand Bargain. Bessler met with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mehmet Kemal Bozay and Turkish Red Crescent President Fatma Meriç Yılmaz at a dinner organised by the Turkish Red Crescent. The Deputy Head of AFAD, the Deputy Head of TIKA, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent and the National Reference Group established within the scope of the Great Reconciliation also attended the event and discussed the localisation efforts in Turkey.
Ambassador Bessler's visit to Ankara was hosted by the Localisation Advocacy Group (LAG) and the Turkish Refugee Council (TRC), the secretariat of the Turkish National Reference Group.
About the Grand Bargain
The World Humanitarian Summit was held in Istanbul in 2016 and the Grand Bargain agreement was signed between organisations working in the field of humanitarian aid and donors in order to increase the impact and efficiency of humanitarian aid work. Localisation commitments have been monitored since 2016 within the framework of the Grand Bargain and with the support of the signatories. In order to facilitate this follow-up, it was envisaged to establish National Reference Groups in 2022 to bring together relevant stakeholders in countries where humanitarian aid activities are carried out, and the first National Reference Group in the world was established in Turkey in January 2023 and started its work.