The Turkic Council or, in full, the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking
States, is an international organization comprising some of the Turkic countries.
It was founded on 3 October 2009 in Nakhchivan. The General Secretariat is
in İstanbul, Turkey. The member countries are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey. The remaining two Turkic states, Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan are not currently official members of the council due to their
neutral stance; however, they are possible future members of the council.
The idea of setting up this cooperative council was first put forward by Kazakh
President Nursultan Nazarbayev back in 2006.
History For centuries, Turks shaped global
history in their own particular way. They built and ruled numerous empires
and states in the vast area stretching from Europe to India. Today Turkic
States have entered a period of close cooperation, building stronger and
sounder relations, and designing their common future together. The most
important achievement of Turkic cooperation, as well as an indispensable
prerequisite for its future development, is the establishment of the Cooperation
Council of Turkic Speaking States or, simply, Turkic Council. Turkic Council
is an intergovernmental organization whose overarching aim is promoting
comprehensive cooperation among Turkic States. The organization was established
on October 3, 2009 by the Nakhchivan Agreement signed among Azerbaijan,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. According to Halil Akinci, the founding
Secretary-General of the organization "Turkic Council has become the first
voluntary alliance of Turkic states in history".
Mission and objectives The Preamble of the Nakhchivan Agreement
reaffirms the will of Member States to adhere to the purposes and principles
enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, and defines the main objective
of the Turkic Council as further deepening comprehensive cooperation
among Turkic Speaking States, as well as making joint contributions to peace and
stability in the region and in the world. Member States have confirmed
their commitment to democratic values, human rights, the rule of law, and
principles of good governance. The Nakhchivan Agreement sets out the
main purposes and tasks of the Organization as follows:
Strengthening mutual confidence and friendship among the Parties;
Developing common positions on foreign policy issues;
Coordinating actions to combat international terrorism, separatism,
extremism and cross-border crimes; Promoting effective regional and
bilateral cooperation in all areas of common interest;
Creating favorable conditions for trade and investment;
Aiming for comprehensive and balanced economic growth, social and cultural
development; Expanding interaction in the fields of
science, technology, education, health, culture, sports and tourism;
Encouraging interaction of mass media and other means of communication;
Promoting exchange of relevant legal information and enhancing legal
cooperation. Structure and operation
Main organs of the Turkic Council include:
Council of Heads of State Council of Foreign Ministers
Senior Officials Committee Council of Elders
The Secretariat The main decision-making and governing
body of the Turkic Council is the Council of Heads of State, which is
presided over by the President whose country holds the chairmanship. The
chairmanship rotates on an annual basis. All activities of the Turkic Council are
coordinated and monitored by its Secretariat, which is located in
Istanbul in accordance with the Nakchivan Agreement. Presidents meet
once a year in a previously determined Turkic city. Senior officials, Aksakals,
as well as other Ministers and government officials, all meet on a
regular basis. Projects
Since its founding agreement defines comprehensive cooperation among Turkic
States as the organization’s main objective and raison d'être, the Turkic
Council is working on a whole variety of projects. The projects are grouped under
six cooperation processes, which are: economy, culture, education, transport,
customs, and diaspora. Examples of the projects include establishing the Turkic
University Association and writing a common history textbook. The Turkic
Council also works on ways to boost economic development in underdeveloped
regions of Member States. The Secretariat brings together Economy
Ministers, Education Ministers, Transport Ministers, Heads of Customs
Administrations, and other senior officials from different ministries and
agencies in order to work on ways to promote cooperation in relevant spheres.
Prior to being brought before ministers and heads of administrations, projects
and issues of cooperation are elaborated by working groups. One recently launched
project is the establishment of a mechanism for closer cooperation among
Turkic diasporas all over the world. Affiliated bodies and organizations
The Turkic Council functions as an umbrella organization for all other
cooperation mechanisms like: the Parliamentary Assembly of the Turkic
Speaking Countries the International Organization of Turkic
Culture International Turkic Academy
Turkic Cultural Heritage Fund Center of Nomafic Civilizations
Turkic Business Council Summits
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the newly independent Turkic
States of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
as well as Turkey organized Summits of the Heads of Turkic Speaking States, the
first of which took place in 1992 in Ankara. With the establishment of Turkic
Council, at the 10th Summit it was decided to rename the top-level meetings
to Turkic Council Summits. Turkic Council Summit is the highlight
of the year whereby Heads of State evaluate outcomes of the past period and
set goals for the next year. The First Summit took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan,
on 20–21 October 2011 and focused primarily on economic cooperation. The
Second Summit was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on 22–23 August 2012 and
concentrated on educational, scientific, and cultural cooperation. The Third
Summit took place on 15–16 August 2013 in Qabala, Azerbaijan with a theme of
transport and connectivity. International cooperation
Turkic Council is an observer at the Economic Cooperation Organization. The
Organization has also applied for an observer status at the United Nations
and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Besides, Turkic Council
maintains close cooperative relations with the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe and the Conference on Interaction and
Confidence-Building Measures in Asia. Members
Possible future members Events
List of Secretaries-General of the Turkic Council
See also List of international organizations
based in Istanbul References
External links Official website