The 7th Informal Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Turkic Council was convened on 21 September 2017 in New York.

The 7th Informal Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Turkic Council was convened in New York.

The 7th Informal Meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Turkic Council was hosted by Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan that currently assumes the Chairmanship of the Turkic Council, on 21 September 2017 in New York at the premises of the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United Nations.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Kazakhstan Kairat Abdrakhmanov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Republic of the Kyrgyz Republic Erlan Abdyldayev, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Republic of the Republic of Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, as well as the Secretary General of the Turkic Council Ambassador Ramil Hasanov took part in the meeting which was held in the framework of the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

At the meeting, the Parties discussed the date of the Sixth Summit of the Turkic Council and related administrative issues of the Secretariat as well as further measures to be taken to obtain the observer status for the Turkic Council at the UN General Assembly and at the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Subsequently, Secretary General Hasanov gave detailed information to the Foreign Ministers about the enhancement of already existing relations with the UN and its specialized agencies such as UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC).

He informed the Ministers that the Turkic Council and the UNOSSC will jointly launch a joint report titled “South-South in Action: How the Turkic Council Uses South-South Cooperation to Promote Regional and global cooperation” on 25 September 2017 at the UNOSSC office in New York.

While presenting the Joint Report to the Ministers, Secretary General Hasanov also invited the UN Permanent Representatives of the Member States to the launch event. Secretary General also provided the Ministers about the specifics of the ongoing and prospective joint projects conducted with the UNDP and UNAOC.

On the other hand, Secretary General elaborated on Turkic Council’s enhanced interactions with other international organizations such as OIC, OSCE, World Customs Organization (WCO), Sports Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) among others.

Ministers expressed their appreciation for the steps taken by the Secretariat with regard to the progress achieved for Turkic Council`s visibility in international arena and specifically for obtaining observer status at the UN General Assembly and the OIC. Furthermore, they ensured the continuation of their support to the Secretariat for the abovementioned issues.

The Parties also discussed the issues regarding the affiliated organizations of the Turkic Council namely the Turkic Academy, the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, and the Center of Nomadic Civilization.

Pursuant to the official application of Hungary to obtain observer status at the Turkic Academy, Ministers took up the matter and supported Hungary’s bid. Based on the legal procedures of the Turkic Council and Turkic Academy the application will be submitted to the Council of Heads of States of the Turkic Council at the next Summit.

At the end of the meeting, the Ministers expressed their appreciation to Minister Abdrakhmanov for hospitality and support to the work of the Secretariat during the Chairmanship of Kazakhstan.

Secretary General was accompanied Project Directors Ali Çiviler, Assan Mazhitov, Pelin Musabay Baki, Jeyhun Shahverdiyev and Head of Protocol Emre Yurdakul.