The Turkic bridge

Kazakhstan and Turkey will not only fundamentally extend the framework
of their bilateral cooperation, but also unite their efforts towards
securing peace and stability in the Central Asian region. This
position of both states was announced during the official visit of the
Turkish President Abdulla Gul.

His four-day visit to Kazakhstan was multidimensional. Judging by the
number of top officials and businessmen, the variety of issues and
problems scheduled for discussion and the number of official events
which took place during the visit, we can state that this was the most
effective and intensive meeting of Kazakh and Turkish leaders.
The meeting saw issues of policy, economics, culture and also
development of cooperation between Turkic states, an issue of high
importance for Turkey.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev noted that trade turnover between
the states fell from $2.9 to $1.4 billion, due to the global crises.
Thus he proposed that the Turkish side draw up a joint program of
economic development, which will provide turnover to reach $10
billion. Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the visit Astana hosted a
joint Kazakh-Turkish business forum, within the framework of which
were signed several investment agreements worth a total of $400
million.

Moreover, a statement was made that both states will join their
efforts to secure peace and stability in the region. This year Turkey
holds the post of chairman of the Conference on Interaction and
Confidence-building Measures in Asia (CICMA) - an international
organization established at the initiative of Kazakhstan. Abdullah Gul
also expressed hope that Turkey will successfully carry out the duties
of the chairing state and will make a substantial contribution to the
process of settling Central Asian conflicts. The president of
Kazakhstan for his part noted "the importance of the Turkish
initiative regarding the uranium exchange deal with Iran, which
confirms the growth of its influence in world politics".

The meeting will see discussion of the so called Turkic issue. Gul and
Nazarbaev have reached an agreement on holding the first session of
the Turkic States Council of Cooperation in August 2010 in Istanbul.
The idea of establishment of the Turkic regional political
organization was proposed by Nursultan Nazarbaev last year. During the
visit Abdullah Gul became personally convinced of the development of
Turkic culture in Kazakhstan. In particular, both presidents took part
in the opening ceremony of the Turkic Academy in Astana. According to
Nazarbaev this Turkic research center will promote the development and
unification of scientific elites throughout the entire Turkic world.