Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

Final consultations on establishing the International Day of the Turkic Language have been held.

The meeting was attended by National Commissions of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkey over the UNESCO, Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, Parliament Assembly of Turkic Speaking States, International Organization of Turkish Culture, Foundation of Turkish Culture and heritage, Officials of the international Turkish Academy, the representatives of relevant state bodies of Turkey.

Azerbaijan was represented at the meeting by the MFA's Ambassador-at-Large, Secretary General of the Azerbaijani National Commission in UNESCO Elnur Sultanov, Trend reported.

Speaking at the event, Elnur Sultanov stressed that Azerbaijan highly appreciates the initiative of establishing the International Day of the Turkic Language and is ready to support the intensification of the process of considering this issue in UNESCO.

President of Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation Gunay Afandiyeva stressed the importance of the event, which will give an even greater impetus to the promotion of the centuries-old history and culture of the Turkic-speaking peoples in the international arena. She emphasised that the Turkic peoples with a unique cultural history have created wonderful works both orally and in writing.

"The Turkic language has an ancient history and roots. The most important function of language is not only reflection of the human world, but also the preservation of culture as a whole, as well as its transmission from generation to generation. That is why language plays an important role in the formation of personality, people, nation and national identity. The Turkic language has deep roots and vast geography," said the President of the Foundation.

In her speech, Gunay Afandiyeva stressed the particular importance of the alphabet. She emphasised that Azerbaijan's transition to the Latin alphabet under the leadership of Heydar Aliyev, as well as the decisions made by Kazakhstan and other Turkic-speaking countries on the use of the Latin script, contributed to the strengthening of tiesc between the Turkic countries.

President of Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation said that the announcement of the Year of Yunus Emre and the Turkic language in 2021 by the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a significant event for the Turkic world.

Gunay Afandiyeva noted that one of the Foundation`s main priorities include projects and programs to study and promote the rich heritage of the Turkic world.

The Foundation will support initiatives to preserve the cultural heritage of the Turkic world both within the framework of UNESCO projects and on a global scale.

Secretary General of the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO Ocal Oguzpointed out that the rich Turkic language has contributed to the world cultural heritage. He stressed the importance of its dissemination among wider civilizations.

Ocal Oguz also spoke about the importance of holding events jointly with the National Commissions of the Turkic countries for UNESCO and Turkic cooperation organizations on the proclamation of the International Day of the Turkic language.

Notably, International Days of the respective languages ​​are celebrated to encourage the popularization of languages ​​at the international level.

In this regard, the Turkish National Commission at UNESCO came up with an initiative to establish an International Turkic Language Day within the framework of UNESCO.

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