Within the framework of his official visit to New York on the occasion of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, the Secretary General of the Turkic Council Ambassador Ramil Hasanov held a bilateral meeting with the Assistant Secretary General of the UN and Vice-President of UNDP Ms. Cihan Sultanoğlu on 19 September 2017.

During the meeting, Parties expressed their commitment for the close cooperation between the two institutions under the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2016 will be further strengthened through concrete projects.

Secretary General Hasanov expressed his gratitude to Ms. Sultanoğlu for their support given to the activities of the Turkic Council in the field of development and stated that he welcomes the preparations being carried out at the level of experts of the two institutions for the establishment of an online academy in cooperation with the Turkic Council and UNDP in the fight against violent extremism. Secretary General Hasanov said that cooperation in this area will contribute greatly to overcoming the problems encountered in the region. He also underlined that cooperation between the two institutions might also be possible in the field of community-based sustainable tourism in the coming period.

Stating that the contributions of the Turkic Council towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should be met with appreciation, Ms. Sultanoğlu also indicated that a crucial gap in combating extremism in the region will be filled with the realization of the above-mentioned academy.

At the meeting, the Parties also agreed to co-ordinate a session during the Global South-South Development Expo (GSSD Expo) which will be organized by the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and will hosted by the Republic of Turkey between 27-30 November 2017 in Antalya.

Turkic Council Project Directors Pelin Musabay Baki and Ceyhun Şahverdiyev as well as Chief of Protocol Emre Yurdakul accompanied Secretary General Hasanov during this meeting.