Addressing the 8th Summit of the Turkic Council, President Erdoğan said: “We are changing the name of our Council, which has developed its institutional structure and boosted its prestige in its region and beyond, to the Organization of Turkic States. Obviously, this historic change should not remain limited to rhetoric, it should be put into action as well.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the Eighth Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council) held in Democracy and Freedoms Island.
“OUR COUNCIL HAS BOOSTED ITS PRESTIGE IN ITS REGION AND BEYOND”
Expressing his wish that the Summit would lead to auspicious outcomes for the member countries and the entire world, President Erdoğan said: “We are changing the name of our Council, which has developed its institutional structure and boosted its prestige in its region and beyond, to the Organization of Turkic States. Obviously, this historic change should not remain limited to rhetoric, it should be put into action as well. The structure and the operating procedure of the secretariat as well as our political, economic and social solidarity must reflect the institutional quality of our family assembly.”
“MEMBER COUNTRIES SHOULD DIVERSIFY AND STRENGTHEN THEIR COOPERATION IN ECONOMY”
Underscoring that as was the case in political and social solidarity, the member countries should diversify and strengthen their cooperation in economy and trade, President Erdoğan went on to say: “We should rapidly increase our trade and mutual investments. We must lift all the non-tariff barriers to the trade among our countries. In this sense, I attach special importance to the signing of the Trade Facilitation Strategy Document. However, we cannot achieve the results we desire unless we connect to each other through land, air and sea routes.”
“WE ARE DETERMINED TO CONTINUE OUR FIGHT AGAINST TERROR IN ALL ITS FORMS”
Further stressing that the fight against terrorist organizations should also be one of the important items on the agenda, President Erdoğan noted: “We are determined to continue our fight against terror in all its forms, especially against such malicious groups as PKK/YPG, DAESH and FETO. We should increase our cooperation in this issue. Also, we should act together in the fight against such destructive movements as xenophobia and hostility towards Islam, which are the plagues of our era.”
Also expressing his wish that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus would be among the member countries of the Council, President Erdoğan voiced his confidence that the current member countries would contribute to the easing of the isolation and embargo the Turkish Cypriots had been facing.
Following his remarks, President Erdoğan presented the Supreme Order of Turkic World to President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan.
