TurkPA development praised
The parliaments of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement to establish the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking countries (TURKPA) in Istanbul on November 21, 2008. "Ever since TurkPA has gone through a great path of development," the organization`s Secretary General, Jandos Asanov said in an interview with AzerTAc.
"Historically, Turkic-speaking nations and communities have always been bound together. The geopolitical changes in the early 90s of the last century led to the emergence of Turkic-speaking states on the world map, and they started developing and deepening their relations," Asanov continued. "These relations cover a wide range of areas today. For instance, on July 12, 1993 the establishment of the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY) paved the way for revival and promotion of the legacy of Turkic people and communities."
"Starting from the 90s educational cooperation has significantly improved. In these years, many educational institutions of Turkey have been launched in Turkic-speaking countries. Currently our students have ample opportunities to study in local universities of Turkic-speaking countries. In addition, there is constant information exchange among the countries," he said.
The Secretary General praised economic relations among Turkic-speaking countries. Kazakhstan's bilateral trade with Turkey is $4 billion, while it is $1 billion with Kyrgyzstan, and $0.5 billion with Azerbaijan. Kazakhstan's bilateral economic cooperation with Azerbaijan is constantly progressing.
"Development of the relations between the Turkic-speaking countries necessitated the establishment of organizations fostering the development of the inter-governmental relations and coordinating overall cooperation," Asvov added. "TURKPA's main objective is to create the legislative basis for the member countries thus supporting constant progress. TURKPA is a parliamentary dimension of the Turkic world."
He said, "On October 1 of this year we inaugurated the main body of TurkPA - its Secretariat - with headquarters in Baku. And this year saw Kazakhstan take over the office of the Secretary General from Azerbaijan on a rotating basis. There are four commissions functioning within TURKPA dedicated to the issues of culture, education, economy, legislation and international relations. TurkPA established cooperation with a number of organizations including, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation."
In his speech at the Third Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States in Gabala, Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev noted the necessity of boosting mutually fruitful partnership between the fraternal people and neighboring countries. The Kazakh President said although the Gross Domestic Product of the Turkic states exceeded 1 trillion 150 billion US dollars, it fells behind our potential.' Our countries' overall economy strengthens yearly. Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkey have space programs. TurkPA member countries are developing local industries through applying new technologies and inventions.
"Pipelines for pumping hydrocarbons, as well as highways and railways are built and repaired. The construction of the Western China-Western Europe international highway will be completed in two years. Kazakhstan has already launched the Gorgas-Zhetigen and Zhanga-Ozen railways bordering with Turkmenistan and linking Central and Western Kazakhstan. Next year the construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars will be over. Aktau and Baku sea ports are increasing bilateral sea traffic. All these projects are aimed at developing trade and investment making cooperation as part of restoration of the ancient Silk Road. Turkic organizations may play the role of a bridge between intergovernmental organizations of the East, the West, the North and the South," Nazarbayev said.
He continued, "There is a big potential for this. All these issues should be included in TurkPA agenda. Today Turkic countries must enhance the information exchange to keep up with the contemporary world. News agencies and journalists have a lot to do here. We also need experts, professionals and scholars that know other Turkic languages. This will open up additional opportunities for us to achieve success, and ensure the exchange of experience in the cultural, scientific, educational and other areas."
Mr Asanov also highlighted opportunities for cooperation among Turkic-speaking countries saying, "Member states of the organization have internal wealth and have experienced rapid economic growth...there are many areas for cooperation between Turkic-speaking countries".
Asanov noted TurkPA is totally committed to the UN Charter, "All TurkPA member countries are members of OSCE, and accept the organization's goals. These issues were stipulated in Bishkek and Ankara declarations, which stress the importance of solving the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in compliance with the principle of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity."
The TurkPA Secretary General also shared his impressions of Azerbaijan, praising the hospitality of the country`s people, and said that buildings in ancient and modern architectural styles make Baku especially beautiful.
Mr Asanov praised the Azerbaijani Parliament`s support of the activities of TurkPA`s Secretariat. He also said he already started learning Azerbaijani language, adding he wishes to speak it fluently in the near future.