BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 13. Austria's Vienna hosted discussions on the role of the Middle Corridor in connecting east and west as part of events organized within Turkic Week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Trend.
Turkic Week is being held in Vienna on January 12-15 with the joint organization of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) and the permanent missions of its member states to the United Nations Office in Vienna. The week began with the ceremonial opening of an exhibition titled “The Turkic World on the Silk Road” at the UN Vienna Office.
The opening ceremony was organized by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the International Organizations in Vienna and attended by OTS Secretary General Kubanychbek Omuraliev, Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Samir Sharifov, heads of several international organizations based in Vienna, and representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in the city.
The statement reported that Deputy Foreign Minister Samir Sharifov, representing Azerbaijan as the current chair of the OTS, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. In his remarks, Sharifov outlined the priorities of Azerbaijan’s chairmanship in the OTS, referred to the Nakhchivan Agreement signed to establish the organization, and the Gabala Declaration adopted at the 12th Summit of the Council of Heads of State of the OTS, as well as the declaration adopted at the informal summit held in Budapest. Highlighting the economic potential of cooperation among Turkic states, he emphasized the role played by the Middle Corridor in linking east and west.
During his speech, Sharifov also touched upon current issues of cooperation among Turkic states in the fields of culture, science, and education, noting that the first Turkological Congress dedicated to the study of the shared Turkic cultural heritage and language was held in Baku a century ago, and that the second Congress will also take place in Baku this year.
Speeches at the exhibition opening were also delivered by OTS Secretary General Kubanychbek Omuraliev, as well as senior officials from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The exhibition features photographs and exhibits reflecting the rich cultural heritage and ancient history of Turkic peoples.
As part of the visit, Deputy Foreign Minister Samir Sharifov and OTS Secretary General Kubanychbek Omuraliev also met with IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, Deputy Director General of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) Driss El-Hadani, and Deputy Director General of UNIDO Fatou Haidara, discussing potential areas of cooperation between the OTS and these organizations.
In addition, within the framework of Turkic Week, a roundtable titled “From the Silk Road to the Middle Corridor: Promoting Connectivity Through Transport and Trade Facilitation” will be held at the headquarters of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), alongside a gala concert featuring cultural representatives of Turkic states and the third training program aimed at strengthening the diaspora potential of the OTS.
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