CCTS creates opportunities for economic and transport partnership – President Nazarbayev
The Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States is becoming a well-known organization and creates an opportunity for economic and transport cooperation, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said, during his speech at the opening of the Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States held in Azerbaijani city of Gabala on Aug. 16.
"And this is a new trend called "Turkic world"," Nazarbayev
said.
The Kazakh president also shared his thoughts on the present and
future activities of the Council.
In particular, he called to make every effort to form its
institutional framework to enhance its powers.
"It is necessary to speed up the ratification of some key documents," the President said.
Nazarbayev thanked the Council's first secretary general Khalil Akynchy for his work towards the restoration of cooperation between the Turkic states.
At the same time, he urged to expand mutually beneficial
economic cooperation between the Turkic peoples.
"Currently, the total gross domestic product of six independent
Turkic states amounts to $1.15 trillion. Despite this, the trade
turnover between the countries does not meet our potential. For
example, the volume of Kazakhstan's trade turnover with the Turkic
states hit only $8 billion in 2012. It is only 6 per cent of our
total turnover," Nazarbayev said.
The president recalled that in late 2012 Kazakhstan had adopted
a strategy of development until 2050.
"We set the task to enter the list of the 30 most developed
countries of the world. This is very ambitious goal, but we have
all the prerequisites to meet it," he said.
Nazarbayev also noted that Astana would host the international
exhibition EXPO in 2017 and expressed the hope that all the
Turkic-speaking states would take an active part in this
large-scale event.
"This event will create opportunities for the development of
tourism which is important for all of us. In this field it is
necessary to share experiences, to train professionals together and
determine the directions of common route," Nazarbayev said.
In particular, the resident proposed to create a working group for the development of tourism within the secretariat.
Nazarbayev also noted the need to develop transport links between the states of the Turkic Council, which will be the basis for the economic relations development.
The President said that Kazakhstan plans 10-fold increase in
goods transit by 2050 and necessary job is underway to meet this
foal. He also noted that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will open up
new prospects for the development of transport potential of the
Turkic-speaking countries.
Nazarbayev called for greater cooperation between the Turkic
countries in education, science and culture.
In conclusion, Nazarbayev wished success in the development of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking states to President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, who took the chairmanship in the organization within the summit
"Let the unity of our countries to be strong and independence eternal. I wish you all happiness and prosperity," Nazarbayev said.
The 3rd Summit of Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States has been held in Gabala, Azerbaijan.
The Summit brought together President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev.
The Summit was opened by Kyrgyz leader Almazbek Atambayev.
The Summit saw the chairmanship of the organization pass to Azerbaijan. The event then continued with a ceremony to sign documents.
The presidents of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan signed the Declaration of the 3rd Summit of Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States and the resolution of the Council of Heads of State of Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States on the term of office of Secretary General, Ambassador Halil Akinci.
The Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States was established in 2009 as an international intergovernmental organization, with the overarching aim of promoting comprehensive cooperation among Turkic Speaking States. Its four founding member States are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey.
The first Summit of the Council took place in Almaty in 2011, while the second in Bishkek last year.