BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 12. The Austrian Dasfazit.at online newspaper published an article entitled “Organization of Turkic States as bright example of key role of President Ilham Aliyev in the integration of Turkic world” dedicated to the Summit of the Organization of Turkic States held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, and in particular the speech of the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at this summit, Trend reports on November 12.
According to the article, the summit was held within the framework of the organization’s new format which was the result of the transformation of the previous structure - the Turkic Council.
This transformation took place a year ago - on November 12, 2021, when Azerbaijan chaired the Turkic Council, the article stressed.
Referring to the words of Secretary General Baghdad Amreyev, the article mentioned the key role of the Istanbul Summit of Heads of States held in November last year (during Azerbaijan's chairmanship): at this summit, the Turkic Council received a new name - the Organization of Turkic States - and became a full-fledged international organization.
The Istanbul summit contributed to the strengthening of the process of integration of the Turkic world, a striking example of which is the accession of Turkmenistan; also is the adoption of the "Turkic World Vision - 2040" document, which is aimed at supporting the integration initiatives of the Turkic countries and which outlined the long-term goals of cooperation, at the summit.
Regarding the period of Azerbaijan's chairmanship in the Turkic Council, the article also noted that it fell on a difficult period: the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as Armenia's military provocations against Azerbaijan and the following second Karabakh war.
However, all the above three factors failed to make President Ilham Aliyev refuse from his initiatives as chairman of the organization, and the 8th Summit of the Heads of Turkic Speaking States, held on November 12, 2021 in Istanbul, which finally completed the process of unification of the Turkic countries into a single organization, became significant in this respect, the article said.
Besides, according to the article, even before that, in 2009, President Ilham Aliyev initiated the summit in Nakhchivan, at which the Turkic Council was created, uniting Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
“The President of Azerbaijan managed to turn the Turkic Council into a real platform for cooperation of all Turkic-speaking countries," the article said. “Azerbaijan, which took over the chairmanship of the organization in 2019, focused on the economic cooperation of the Turkic countries, while having as its main goal creating a basis for strengthening the political ties of the Turkic-speaking countries."
According to the article, namely the efforts undertaken by Azerbaijan contributed to display of interest and a gradual intensification of ties on the part of a number of countries which didn’t initially participate in the work of the Turkic Council: 2018 was marked by the accession of Hungary, in 2019, Uzbekistan became a full member of the organization, and then Turkmenistan received a special status in the council.
The article also touched upon the current tasks facing the organization, which President Ilham Aliyev focused on during recent talks with Secretary General Baghdad Amreyev. The first task was formulated by the Azerbaijani president as "cooperation in the field of strengthening security measures."
“Since the world is changing and has already changed, new threats and new challenges are already knocking at the door, so to speak. Therefore, along with economic cooperation, cooperation in transport, humanitarian and other areas will be one of the priorities, I think,” the article quoted words of the President of Azerbaijan.
As the second task, the president named the importance of ensuring the security of compatriots who live abroad.
"There are many more Azerbaijanis living outside Azerbaijan than in the country alone. Of course, their security, their rights and well-being are of the utmost importance to us. We will continue to do everything to help the Azerbaijanis who have found themselves cut off from our state, to assist them in their development so that they preserve the Azerbaijani language, Azerbaijani traditions, Azerbaijani culture, remain true to the principles of Azerbaijanism and never cut off ties with their historical homeland, just as many representatives of other peoples of our fraternal Turkic states live outside their states," President Ilham Aliyev said.
The article also stressed that provision of "the rights and security, the national identity of our brothers who, by the will of fate, live outside the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States" were designated by the head of state as important topics.
The far-sighted policy of President Ilham Aliyev became the decisive factor which led to the establishment of the Organization of Turkic States, and namely this structure should be considered as one of the most effective platforms allowing solve tasks which are vital for its member countries, concluded the article.