Turkic Nations Summit opens in Astana

The fifth summit of the Cooperation Council of the Turkic Speaking States (CCTS) opened in the capital city of Kazakhstan,  Astana, on Friday, 11 September. The summit was addressed by the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev who said that the summit was a crucial stage in the integration of the Turkic world. Nazarbayev added that since the CCTS was created, cooperation between its member states had become systematic. "In the 21st century Turkic speaking countries should step up cooperation", Nazarbayev told the heads of state and other representatives from Turkic nations attending the summit.

Participants in the summit also attended the ceremony marking the 550th anniversary of the establishment of the Khazak Khanate "People of the independent Turkic speaking states - Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan - and 200 million of Turkic peoples scattered around the globe are the descendants of one great forefather, the Turkic warrior," President Nazarbayev said in a speech during the cerermony.  The Kazakh leader stressed that the Turkic speaking nations are created to be together and preserve their unity. "Our unity is the key to our success and the source of power to protect our motherlands. We should always bear it in our minds. In the 21st century the Turkic speaking countries separated by destiny, but having common language, traditions, and roots, should cooperate with each other," Nursultan Nazarbayev added.

One of the items being discussed at the summit is the creation of a pan Turkic television station. The idea was welcomed by President Ilham Aliev of Azerbaijan who is also attending the summit who described it as a fine project that will strengthen friendship between Turkic-speaking peoples.
 
source: commonspace.eu with Kazinform News Agency
Photo: President Aliev of Azerbaijan and President  Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan in Astana on 11 September 2015 (picture courtesy of Kazinform).

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
Thirty Armenian members of the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups meet in Yerevan

Thirty Armenian members of the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups meet in Yerevan

Yesterday (23 September) around thirty Armenians involved in the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups gathered in Yerevan to be briefed by Leonid Narsisian, co-Chair of the thematic group on Peace and Security; Narek Minasyan, Chair of the thematic group on regional connectivity; Sargis Harutyunyan, Chair of the thematic group on Governance; Aghavni Harutyunyan, Deputy Chair of the thematic group on Environment; and Andranik Shirinyan, Deputy Chair of the thematic group on gender and diversity. The Thematic Groups are a LINKS Europe initiative aimed at promoting a new style of Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue, fit for the new reality. They will present their five reports in mid-November. We were delighted to welcome to the meeting in Yerevan, Murad Muradov, Azerbaijani co-Chair of the thematic group on peace and security who also spoke. Others to address the meeting included Erik Jessen, Political Officer at the EU Delegation in Armenia, Stepan Grigoryan, Senior Member of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Expert Strategic Platform (under the auspices of LINKS Europe), and Dennis Sammut, Director and George Simonishvili, South Caucasus coordinator, of LINKS Europe. It was a very good and engaging meeting, also attended by representatives of various embassies, including HE Marieke Monroy-Winter, the Ambassador of The Netherlands. A similar meeting with Azerbaijani members will take place in Baku on Friday (26 September). The Armenian and Azerbaijani members have been meeting on line since April. On 27 October they will meet together in Tbilisi to finalise their work.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
Thirty Armenian members of the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups meet in Yerevan

Thirty Armenian members of the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups meet in Yerevan

Yesterday (23 September) around thirty Armenians involved in the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups gathered in Yerevan to be briefed by Leonid Narsisian, co-Chair of the thematic group on Peace and Security; Narek Minasyan, Chair of the thematic group on regional connectivity; Sargis Harutyunyan, Chair of the thematic group on Governance; Aghavni Harutyunyan, Deputy Chair of the thematic group on Environment; and Andranik Shirinyan, Deputy Chair of the thematic group on gender and diversity. The Thematic Groups are a LINKS Europe initiative aimed at promoting a new style of Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue, fit for the new reality. They will present their five reports in mid-November. We were delighted to welcome to the meeting in Yerevan, Murad Muradov, Azerbaijani co-Chair of the thematic group on peace and security who also spoke. Others to address the meeting included Erik Jessen, Political Officer at the EU Delegation in Armenia, Stepan Grigoryan, Senior Member of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Expert Strategic Platform (under the auspices of LINKS Europe), and Dennis Sammut, Director and George Simonishvili, South Caucasus coordinator, of LINKS Europe. It was a very good and engaging meeting, also attended by representatives of various embassies, including HE Marieke Monroy-Winter, the Ambassador of The Netherlands. A similar meeting with Azerbaijani members will take place in Baku on Friday (26 September). The Armenian and Azerbaijani members have been meeting on line since April. On 27 October they will meet together in Tbilisi to finalise their work.