The Host Country Agreement on the Secretariat of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States was signed in Ankara on December 27th, 2011 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu and the Secretary General of the Turkic Council Halil Akinci.
The ceremony was attended by the Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul Kadir Topbas, TURKSOY Secretary General Dusen Kaseinov, TURKSOY Deputy Secretary General Firat Purtas, Ambassadors, members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs along with other high-level officials.
Mr. Davutoglu said that the 21st century will be the the century of Turkic Speaking Nations also stressed the fact that Turkic States which declared their independence 20 years ago have realized considerable progress. Mr.Davutoglu who also reminded of the importance of unity and solidarity amongst Turkic Speaking States expressed his wish to see other kindred countries join the Council.
Mr. Akinci in his speech talked about the historical evolution of the Council since 1996. Mr. Akinci added that Turkic Countires are becoming more and more important in the international arena and said that the Council which has taken a great step forward as to the institutionalization of the Turkic World aims first and foremost at strengthening of mutual confidence among countries of the Turkic World with a view to giving an impetus to economic, cultural and educational cooperation opportunities.