Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

A conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Astana was held in Ankara. Well known politicians, artists, scientists, intellectuals and Turkish businessmen held a presentation on the history of the formation of the Kazakh capital.

YALCIN TOPCU, CHIEF COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT OF TURKEY:
- I always say that Ankara and Astana are twin cities. In the past reformer and Turkish hero Mustafa Kemal declared Ankara as the capital and the same historically important decision was made by the far-sighted President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, when he transferred the capital from Almaty to Astana. I can say that the views of these two great figures are similar. They both made contributions to the cultural revival of the people.

There was also an official presentation ceremony of ‘The Capital of the Great Steppe’ book at the conference. The book contains analytical articles, research works on the important role of the Kazakh President in bilateral relations development as well as feedback on Astana. The authors are well-known politicians and state officials.

MUSA YILDIZ, CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF TRUSTEES, INTERNATIONAL KAZAKH-TURKISH UNIVERSITY:
- Astana is an important city for the international community and in particular for the Turkic world. It is the center of peace and harmony. Astana demonstrated its peacekeeping role when it became a platform for peaceful negotiations on Syria.

ABZAL SAPARBEKULY, KAZAKH AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY:
- Astana is a strategically important young city not only in Kazakhstan, the Turkic world, but also throughout Eurasia. But even being young, Astana has already established its peace-loving status on the world stage.

‘The Capital of the Great Steppe’ book was published in Kazakh and Turkish languages. The organizers believe that the publication will be a new step to strengthen the cultural relations between the two countries.

X