The Second Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States was held in Bishkek on 22-23 August 2012. H.E. Almazbek Atambayev President of Kygyzstan, H.E. Nursultan Nazarbayev President of Kazakhstan and H.E. Artur Rasizade Prime Minister of Azerbaijan as well as President of Republic of Turkey, H.E. Abdullah Gül attended the Summit. At the Summit which was organized under the theme of “Education, Science and Cultural Cooperation”, the ways to enhance the multilateral cooperation among Turkic Speaking States were addressed. The concrete steps for the institutionalization of the Turkic Council were also discussed.

Furthermore the Heads of State and Government signed the Declaration of Bishkek Summit and the Foreign Ministers signed the agreement for financing of the Turkic Council Secretariat General at the Summit. The Ministers of Education also signed the agreements regarding establishment of Turkic Academy and Turkic Cultural Heritage Foundation in Baku.

Speaking at the Foreign Ministers Council meeting ahead of the Summit, Foreign Minister Davutoğlu referred the significant steps taken towards the institutionalization of the Turkic Council since the Nakhchivan Agreement of 2009, the founding documents of the Turkic Council and the inauguration of Council’s Secretariat in İstanbul in an expeditious way. He said Turkey attaches importance that the Turkic Council takes the place it deserves in the international arena as a well-reputed organization. Underlining that the common Turkic cultural heritage is a source of pride Foreign Minister Davutoğlu stated joint linguistic and historic projects should be given a priority and the capabilities for scientific research should be increased. Foreign Minister Davutoğlu also shared Turkey’s assessments concerning Cyprus, Afghanistan, Nagorno-Karabakh and Syria at the meeting.

The process of Summits of the Heads of Turkic Speaking States that have convened since 1992 on the initiative of Turkey was institutionalized in 2009 as the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States with the overarching aim of promoting comprehensive cooperation among Turkic Speaking States.

For detailed information on the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States