Kazakhstan hosts the first summit of the Turkic Countries Cooperation Council (TCCC). This event can be considered as crucial and historic. It is the first time a union of Turkic countries has gained real organizational structure. The initiator of the TCCC was Nursultan Nazarbayev. The presidents of Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan, Ilham Aliyev and Roza Otunbayeva, and the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will visit Alma-Ata. They plan to discuss relevant international and regional issues. The main topic is extension of trade and the economy, cultural and humanitarian cooperation.
The new organization can become an important factor in the political processes of the Turkic world, which covers territory from China to the Mediterranean Sea. The participants of the Cooperation Council show who is ready today for cooperation based on economic power. Turkey, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are the leaders of their sub-regions. Only Kyrgyzstan falls of out the list of the strongest. However, Bishkek’s reasons are quite understandable: to be close to rich relatives, who can help to overcome the deepest crisis.
It is interesting that the Turkish prime minister will participate in the TCCC summit. According to the head of Russian Social and Political Research Centre, Vladimir Yevseev, the participation of Erdogan is not a downgrading of the summit. It demonstrates the high attention Turkey gives to the union of Turkic countries. “In the Turkish political system it is the prime minister who has all the power in his hands, and Erdogan doesn’t consider the summit to be a routine one, to which the president of the country could come. Turkey works actively in Turkic countries, having economic and political interests there. A new formation only emphasizes the leading role of Turkey in the region of Central Asia and the South Caucasus,” the expert thinks.
The general secretary of the TCCC, or Turkic Council, Halil Akyndji, stated that the heads of the countries will concentrate on the economy. “Economic cooperation is very important for development and cooperation between our states,” Akyndji told a press conference in Alma-Ata. He added that the theme of private cooperation and state partnership is of high significance.
The General Secretary of the TCCC announced a decision on establishing a Turkic Business Council. Within its framework special thematic working groups will be formed. Representatives of the private sector, governmental structures and the secretary of the Turkic Countries Cooperation Council will be involved in the groups. Following the results of the work the groups will present conclusions at the next meeting of economy ministries next spring. Based on them, a report for the next summit in Bishkek will be developed. The main objectives for the working groups are defining problems and eliminating the barriers which prevent development of trade and economic relations between the countries.
The summit will also provide an opportunity to hold detailed discussions of various questions in bilateral format. The president of Azerbaijan will visit Kazakhstan ahead of the summit, on October 19-20. The signing of a joint declaration by the presidents of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan is also planned.
Picture: the Summit in Istanbul on September 16, 2010. This year Turkey is represented by its prime minister, which doesn’t mean a downgrading of the representation.
Yevgeny Krishtalyev. Exclusively to VK.
