THE COOPERATION COUNCIL OF TURKIC SPEAKING STATES (TURKIC COUNCIL)

As a result of the summits of the Heads of States of the Turkic Speaking States which began in 1992, the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking Countries (Turkic Council) was establihed by the Nakhchivan Agreement, which was signed on 3 October 2009 and entered into force on 17 November 2010. The Turkic Council is structured as a regional framework organization.

Nakhchivan Agreement was signed by four founding states which are Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Hungary's Observer Member status was adopted in 2018. With the membership of Uzbekistan in 2019, the number of members has risen to five. Council’s secretariat is in Istanbul. The current Presidency of the Turkic Council is run by Azerbaijan. In addition, Nursultan Nazarbaev received the title of Honorary President for life since 2019 with the Council decision.

Aims and Duties of the Turkic Council:

-Strengthening mutual trust, friendship and good neighborhood between the parties,

-Ensuring and strengthening peace and security in and outside of the region,

-Adopting common attitudes on foreign policy issues of common interest,

-Ensuring coordination in international fight against international terrorism, separatism, extremism and cross-border crime,

-Development of effective regional and bilateral cooperation in all areas related to common objectives,

-Creating favorable conditions for trade and investment, facilitating customs procedures, financial and banking affairs,

-Aiming for comprehensive and balanced economic growth, social and cultural development through joint activities,

-Ensuring the rule of law, good governance and protection of human rights,

-Expanding interaction in the fields of science, technology, education and culture,

-Encouraging interaction and a more intense communication among the parties through the mass media,

-Ensuring the exchange of information on legal issues and judicial cooperation.

Turkic Council-Partners: