Türk Keneşi issues declaration at first virtual summit
Informal Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (hereinafter referred to as the Turkic Council) was held via video conference on 31 March 2021 on the theme of “Turkistan – A Spiritual Capital of the Turkic World”.
The meeting was presided over by H.E. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan< and attended by H.E. Nursultan Nazarbayev, First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Elbasy and the Honorary Chairman of the Turkic Council; H.E. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan; H.E. Sadyr Zhaparov, President of the Kyrgyz Republic; H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Turkey; H.E. Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, H.E. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, President of Turkmenistan; and H.E. Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary as well as H.E. Baghdad Amreyev Secretary General of the Turkic Council.
The Heads of States of the Turkic Council,
Celebrating Nowruz, a holiday which welcomes the vernal equinox and symbolizes the renewal of nature and the beginning of new life;
Congratulating the upcoming 30th anniversary of the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan; and expressing gratitude to the Republic of Turkey for immediate recognition of independence of the Turkic Speaking States in 1991;
Highlighting the remarkable political and socio-economic progress that the Turkic Speaking States achieved during the last decades and highly valuing the evolution of multilateral relations in the Turkic World and expressing their strong commitment to further deepening cooperation among the Turkic States;
Commending the liberation of territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan from military occupation and welcoming the end of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict;
Reiterating their determination to lay down long-term vision and goals for closer cooperation and enhanced solidarity in the Turkic World and to shape the strategic orientation;
Emphasizing the valuable achievements of the Turkic Council since its inception and reaffirming the intention to enhance its role in ensuring cooperative and coordinated action in the Turkic World and further promoting the values and interests of the Turkic World in the regional and international arena;
Underlining the significance of the multilateral economic cooperation as a tool for contribution to the peace, stability, security and prosperity for the benefit of their peoples;
Acknowledging the spiritual significance of the city of Turkistan in bringing peoples together from across the wider Turkic World;
Praising the heritage of Kozha Akhmet Yasavi as a great inspirational figure, who founded Turkic school of Islamic morality and exerted a powerful influence on the development of philosophy across the Turkic World;
Expressing the importance of continuation of holding consultations on regional and international issues affecting the interests of the Turkic World in order to develop a consolidated position of the Member States of the Organization on them in line with the Nakhchivan Agreement on the Establishment of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States.
Declared that they:
1. Proclaimed the city of Turkistan as a Spiritual Capital of the Turkic World. Agreed that other prominent ancient cities of the Turkic World might be accorded with similar statuses on a rotating basis in the future; and instructed the Secretariat to prepare a regulation on this matter in cooperation with the Member States to be adopted by the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) prior to the 8th Turkic Council Summit in Turkey;
2. Supported the initiative of H.E. Nursultan Nazarbayev, First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Elbasy and the Honorary Chairman of the Turkic Council to change the name of the Turkic Council and instructed the Foreign Ministers and the Secretariat to prepare the relevant documents to lay the basis for this decision at the 8th Summit of the Turkic Council envisaged to be held in the fall of 2021 in the Republic of Turkey;
3. Commended the Secretariat for the preparation of the initial drafts of the “Turkic World Vision -2040” and “Turkic Council Strategy 2020-2025”, and instructed the relevant authorities of the Member States to work with the Secretariat to prepare them for the possible approval in line with their respective national procedures at the next Summit in Turkey;
4. Expressed solidarity with the Government and the People of Azerbaijan in their effort to rehabilitate, rebuild and reintegrate conflict-affected territories and supported the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the basis of mutual recognition of and respect for each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders;
5. Stressed the importance of the economic outlook for enabling the Turkic Council to set more ambitious and achievable goals, undertake and effectively implement regional projects of strategic importance, in particular in the field of transport, customs, energy and infrastructure;
6. Noting the great merits of the famous poet and statesman Mir Alisher Navoi in the eye of the Turkic people, who made a great contribution to the development of the literature, art, social-economic, scientific and cultural life of the Turkic world, as well as in connection with the wide celebration of his 580th anniversary this year, agreed to establish the Alisher Navoi International Prize within the Turkic Council;
7. Instructed the relevant authorities of the Member States to hold in collaboration with the Turkic Cooperation Organizations coordinated events for celebration of the 1005th anniversary of Zhusup Balasagyn, 880th anniversary of Nizami Ganjavi, the year of Yunus Emre and the Turkish language, the 580th anniversary of Alisher Navoi, 175th anniversary of Zhambyl Zhabayev, 155th anniversary of Alikhan Bokeikhan, and the 120th anniversary of Huseyin Karasaev, prominent poets, philosophers and statesmen of the Turkic World who made significant contributions to the development of literature, art, science and culture of the Turkic World;
8. Commended the significant achievements in the activities of the Secretariat of the Turkic Council since the last Summit.
The Heads of States express profound thanks to H.E. Nursultan Nazarbayev, First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Elbasy and the Honorary Chairman of the Turkic Council for initiating the Turkistan Informal Summit and H.E. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan for steering the deliberations at this meeting to a successful conclusion.
Adopted on 31 March 2021 at the videoconference in the Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkish, Uzbek and English languages.
The Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States was set up 2009 in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, at the initiative of Kazakhstan’s then President Nursultan Nazarbayev who still serves as the council’s honorary chairman. The General Secretariat is located in Istanbul. Secretary-General is the Kazakh diplomat Baghdad Kultaevich Amreyev.
Membership therein includes Turkey, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Hungary is an observer state, and Turkmenistan holds an unwritten status as a country of Turkic heritage that has declined membership in the council owing to its policy of absolute neutrality.
The council has its own flag, and intends in playing a more relevant role in the region for countries of Turkic heritage.
For further information:
https://www.turkkon.org/en/haberler/turkistan-declaration-of-the-informal-summit-of-the-cooperation-council-of-turkic-speaking-states_2220
Picture by Turkic Council.
