Kazakh President: Council of Turkic-speaking states creates conditions for economic and transport partnership

Azerbaijan, Gabala, August 16 / Trend A.Badalova / 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 speaking at the third Summit of the organization in Azerbaijani city 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 third Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States started its work on Friday in Azerbaijani city of Gabala. The summit's work is attended by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Turkey Abdullah Gul, President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The third Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States was held in Azerbaijani city of Gabala on Aug. 16. The summit was attended by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Turkey Abdullah Gul, President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The main topic of the discussion at the third Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States was the cooperation in transport sphere and simplification of customs procedures. The discussions also focused on further development of cooperation between organization's member countries. A meeting of foreign ministers of the Turkic speaking states was held on the eve of the summit. The summit's agenda and cooperation prospects within the organization were discussed during the meeting. The Council was established in 2009 by the Member States - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey - with a purpose to make a joint contribution to peace and stability in Eurasia. The organization's secretariat is located in Istanbul. The city of Gabala is situated in the north of Azerbaijan, in 220 kilometres of the country's capital Baku. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az