10th summit of Turkic countries opens in Istanbul

The 10th summit of Turkic-speaking countries has opened in Istanbul, under the chairmanship of Turkey, TRT reports. Opening the summit, Turkish President Abullah Gul said that they will discuss issues of mutual
interest for Turkic countries.

The main topic of discussions is establishing the Council of
Cooperation of Turkic countries with its headquarters in Istanbul.

The first idea of establishing the council was announced by Nursultan
Nazarbayev in 2006 at the summit in Antalya. In 2009 at the forum in
Nakhichevan the idea was approved in the form of an agreement. The
council will be the basis of the new common Turkic unity, aimed at
strengthening the unity of peoples with the same language and cultural
space and improving political and trade-economic ties.

The schedule includes the issue of establishing a Council of Elders,
to be headed by the chief of Turkish president's secretariat Mustafa
Isen.