Abdulhadi Turus, President of the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), attended the panel titled “Global Network, Shared Identity: Turkic World Diaspora”, held as part of the “Turkic World Dialogue Forum” organised by the Directorate of Communications.
Delivering the opening address at the panel in Ankara, YTB President Turus highlighted the significance of the forum's title, stating that the Turkic world diaspora should be approached from a perspective that extends beyond geographical boundaries.
Noting that they were working to bring together people living in different countries who shared a common history and language, Turus said, “We are seeking ways to bring together the human capital dispersed across the world without drawing boundaries.”
Stating that YTB was carrying out initiatives to strengthen human capital in three main areas, Turus made the following remarks regarding the diaspora:
“Türkiye alone has 7.5 million citizens living abroad, while the Turkic world has a pool of 20 million highly skilled people in its diaspora. These 20 million people can contribute to strengthening cultural and linguistic unity by sharing the experience they have gained in their countries of residence with the Turkic world. We believe this will create a vast global sphere of influence across the region we are discussing.”
Turus stated that YTB was continuing its efforts to turn this vision into reality, adding that the second area of its work focused on kin and related communities.
“When we speak of kin and related communities in Türkiye, I say, praise be to Allah, the first place that comes to mind is Turkistan. This is because we have inherited all our cultural values from there,” Turus said, noting that YTB was implementing joint projects to promote a better understanding of the Turkistan region.
Turus stated that 5,000 young people were pursuing undergraduate, master's and doctoral studies in Türkiye under the Türkiye Scholarships programme, with the majority of these students coming from the Turkic world. He noted that the programme contributed to building cultural bridges.
Emphasising that these initiatives aimed to develop human capital for the Turkic world, Turus recalled that various alliances and groupings of countries had emerged across the world following the Second World War.
Noting that, in recent years, these alliances had failed to make a meaningful contribution at the global level, Turus referred to the conflicts and crises taking place in different parts of the world.
Turus emphasised that the people-centred approach of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) would serve as a remedy for the world's challenges, saying, “As YTB, we are also working to determine how we can add value to the OTS by developing human capital. Our efforts place people at their centre.”
“We know that our shared cultural values will enable us to move towards the future with much greater strength,” Turus said.
The panel, moderated by Murat Kazancı, Vice President of the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), featured speeches by Umud Mirzayev, President of the International Eurasia Press Fund; Prof. Tursın Jurtbay, Author, Literary Scholar and Historian; Prof. Eldor Shermanov, Rector of Yunus Rajabi Uzbek National Institute of Musical Arts; Klara Kudaybergenova, Journalist at UTRK; and Prof. Ulvi Keser, Faculty Member at Final International University.