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18.09.2018-24.09.2018 • No: 178 7

THE 6TH SUMMIT OF THE TURKIC COUNCIL: A NEW ERA

On September 3, 2018, the 6th Summit of the Co- As seeks to strengthen bilateral relations fallen against the dollar due to ’s worsen- operation Council of Turkic-Speaking States and cooperation with , , ing relations with Washington and other prob- (Turkic Council) was held in Cholpon-Ata, Kyr- and , it seems possible for lems. Given all this, the issue of using national gyzstan, on the theme of “Youth and National to become a member of the Turkic currencies for trade between the members of the Sports”. President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Er- Council in the short term. Moreover, granting the Turkic Council, which have a large geographical dogan, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Naz- observer status to , which is a member of and economic weight, is a matter that deserves to arbayev and President of the , will help to increase the re- be discussed. attended the summit hosted by President of Kyr- gional and global importance of the Turkic Coun- The implementation of the projects named “100 gyzstan Sooronbai Jeenbekov. Moreover, Presi- cil. In addition, taking into account that the deci- Eminent Persons of the Turkic World” and “The dent of Uzbekistan and Prime sion was made to support the Turkic Council’s as- Holy Lands of the Turkic World” proposed by Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban participated as piration for obtaining an observer status at the President of Kazakhstan is honorable guests. UNGA, the Turkic Council should pay attention important to reinforce the historical ties and unity During the summit, where the chairmanship in the to potential membership and observer activities in of the Turkic countries and to introduce the Turkic Turkic Council passed from Kazakhstan to Kyr- the coming period. peoples’ common culture to the world. In the past gyzstan, the activities of the Turkic Council be- Besides Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and the Turk- few years, Kazakhstan has initiated a number of tween 2014-2018 were summarized and new de- ish Republic of may also be con- cultural projects within the framework of its pro- cisions were made that should facilitate further sidered as member states, while Russia and Mon- gram on spiritual revival. It can be said that Ka- achievements in the future. As a result of the sum- golia – as observer states. However, due to the cur- zakhstan’s historic June 2018 decision to move mit, the parties signed the Cholpon-Ata Declara- rent political-legal status of the Turkish Republic the center of the South Kazakhstan province to tion and decided to grant Hungary an observer sta- of Northern Cyprus and Turkmenistan’s neutrality and give the city’s name to the province tus in the Turkic Council. In addition, a number of policy, these countries have so far only partici- will make a significant contribution to the spiritual documents were signed at the meeting, including pated in the International Organization of Turkic development of Kazakhstan and even the spiritual the Concept of Integration of the Turkic Speaking Culture (TURKSOY), which is the affiliated body and cultural relations of the Turkic world. Histor- States, the Decision to Strengthen Efforts for the of the Turkic Council. Therefore, the Turkic ically, the name of Turkistan refers not only to the Turkic Council’s Obtaining an Observer Status at Council should give importance to deepening co- city of Turkistan, but also to the whole Central the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), operation with the Turkish Republic of Northern Asian region and the Turkic people’s ancestral and the Joint Statement on the Development of Cyprus and Turkmenistan within the framework homeland. Combining these projects with the Cooperation in the Field of National Sports and of the organization’s affiliated bodies such as Modern Silk Road Joint Tour Package Project im- Youth Policy. At the summit, the appointments of TURKSOY. When looking at the Turkic commu- plemented by the Turkic Council can make a sig- Mr. Bagdad Amreyev, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador nities with the autonomous status in Russia, Rus- nificant contribution to the development of the to the Islamic Republic of , as Secretary Gen- sia’s potential observer status in the Turkic Coun- tourism sector in all the member states. eral of the Turkic Council, Dr. Omer Kocaman as cil should also be considered with caution. Altai On the other hand, the adoption of the Concept of Deputy Secretary General of the Turkic Council Republic, , Khakasya, Re- Integration of the Turkic Speaking States, which and Mr. Darkhan Kydyrali as President of the Tur- public, and Republic participated will be presented to the 7th Summit of the Turkic kic Academy were approved by the joint decision in TURKSOY’s activities as observers. However, Council, can be emphasized as an important step signed by the heads of state. the four Russian federal subjects, except Tatarstan towards the cooperation of both the Turkic world We see the historic summit to be of great im- and Bashkortostan, left TURKSOY after the No- and the member states of the organization. In or- portance for the future of the Turkic Council, with vember 2015 jet crisis between Turkey and Rus- der to develop the Turkic Council as an interna- many important decisions taken to develop politi- sia. On the other hand, granting the status of an tional organization as well as to increase its global cal, trade and economic, social and cultural coop- observer state in the Turkic Council to Mongolia, and regional influence, short, medium and long- eration between the Turkic speaking states. The which is in good relations with Turkey and other term strategic decisions and plans of both the or- Turkic Council was established by the Na- Turkic countries, may contribute to the expansion ganization and its member states should be deter- khchivan Agreement in October 2009 during the of the organization’s influence. The successful mined. 9th Summit of the heads of Turkic speaking states work of the International Turkic Academy in In summary, despite the delay of two years due to that was first convened in 1992 at Turkey’s initia- Mongolia in recent years is a prominent example various reasons, the 6th Summit of the Turkic tive. The Turkic Council’s own previous five sum- of the Turkic Council’s cooperation with Mongo- Council held in Kyrgyzstan was the beginning of mits took place with the participation of four lia. a new era in terms of the geographic expansion of member states – Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz- It is noteworthy that during the summit President the Turkic Council and the integration of the Tur- stan and Turkey. At the summit in June of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a proposal kic world. It can be stated that the observer status 2014, Turkmenistan was invited to attend the sum- on the issue of de-dollarization in mutual trade be- of Hungary, which is historically connected and mit as an honorable guest. Therefore, the 6th sum- tween the member states. In a period of increasing maintains good cooperation with the Turkic mit, where Uzbekistan participated for the first global and regional geopolitical competition, and world, and the potential membership of the time (as an honorable guest) and Hungary gained escalating economic sanctions and trade wars, the brother country Uzbekistan can positively affect an observer status, is of great importance for the proposal is important for all the member states. the expansion of the Turkic Council in the coming expansion of the Turkic Council and the integra- For instance, in recent years, the national curren- period. In the process of enlargement and devel- tion of the Turkic world. cies of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and opment, the Turkic Council should focus on in- The intention of Uzbekistan to become a member Uzbekistan have depreciated significantly against creasing trade and economic cooperation between of the Turkic Council is an important step both for the dollar due to the fall in oil prices and the global its member states. In this context, with their spe- the expansion of the Turkic Council and for the economic situation. Moreover, the economic cific geographical location and economic poten- development of Uzbekistan’s integration with the sanctions against Russia imposed by the United tial, the members of the Turkic Council should es- Turkic world. With the accession to power of States and its allies have a certain negative effect tablish an economic corridor between the East and Shavkat Mirziyoyev in December 2016, Uzbeki- on the economies of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the West by developing their transport and com- stan’s reforms in the political, social, trade and which are the ’s mem- munication networks. economic, and diplomatic fields have intensified. ber states. Finally, Turkey’s national currency has Written by Omirbek Hanay, Eurasian Research Institute, Kazakhstan

Politics, Foreign Affairs, and Security Economy, Finance, and Energy 2018, the country’s GDP growth amounted to 3.8% compared to the  President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mir-  During the visit to Minsk, Zhao Leji, the same period of 2017. It is also noted that ziyoyev approved the Innovative Devel- in April-June 2018 the GDP per capita member of the Standing Committee of opment Strategy for 2019-2021 aimed increased by 4.3% compared to the the Political Bureau of the Communist at developing human capital in the same period of 2017. Party of China Central Committee, met country. Under the document, it is with President of Belarus Alexander Society and Culture planned to ensure sustainable economic Lukashenko to discuss further coopera- and social development, through which  Heads of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Rus- tion between the two countries within Uzbekistan would enter the list of top 50 sia, Turkey and other Eurasian countries the framework of the Belt and Road In- leading economies by 2030. sent their condolences to President of itiative, focusing on enhancing eco- Iran Hassan Rouhani over the tragic  According to the Agency on Statistics nomic and trade relations. As a result of consequences of the terrorist attack in of , in January-August 2018, the visit, the parties signed the memo- the Iranian city of Ahvaz. At least 25 the country’s trade turnover with the randum of understanding on supervi- people were killed and more than 60 CIS countries increased by 17.8% com- others injured as a result of the shooting sory bodies’ cooperation. pared to the same period of 2017, reach- that took place during a military parade.  The Verkhovna Rada of ap- ing $1.5 billion. During the reporting  The opening ceremony of the Belarus- proved a presidential bill amending the period, Russia ranks first among Tajiki- Uzbekistan Educational Center was country’s constitution regarding the stan’s trade partners with a total turno- held at the Nizami Tashkent State Ped- strategic course of the state for obtain- ver of $651.9 million, followed by Ka- agogical University. The center was es- ing the full membership of Ukraine in zakhstan with a total turnover of $553.3 tablished under the agreement between the Belarusian State Pedagogical Uni- the EU and NATO and sent it to the million. The trade turnover between Ta- versity and the Nizami University with Constitutional Court. The bill was jikistan and Uzbekistan increased 2.3 backed by 321 out of 366 parliamentar- the assistance of the Belarusian Minis- times totaling over $192.6 million. try of Education and the Ministry of ians registered during the session.  The Russian oil company Rosneft an- Higher and Secondary-Specialized Ed-  During his visit to Sochi, President of nounced its plans to deliver up to 50 ucation of Uzbekistan. Belarus Alexander Lukashenko held million tons of oil to China in 2018. Ac-  During the session of the Governing talks with his Russian counterpart Vla- cording to the Customs Service of Rus- Council of the UN Special Program for dimir Putin to discuss further steps for sia, over the past ten years, annual oil the Economies of boosting bilateral economic partner- supplies to China increased 4.5-fold to (SPECA) held in , the parties ship. The parties paid particular atten- 52.6 million tons, while deliveries of oil discussed the issues related to improv- tion to the issue of keeping preferential products doubled reaching 6.3 million ing communication capacities in the SPECA region. SPECA was established terms for Russian oil deliveries to Bela- tons. In addition, Rosneft signed an rus. in 1998 in accordance with the Tashkent agreement to create a joint venture on Declaration signed by the presidents of  During the 28th meeting of the Coordi- the construction and operation of a Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and nating Council of Prosecutors General chain of automobile compressed natural Uzbekistan, as well as the executive of the CIS countries and the 16th meet- gas filling stations in Russia together secretaries of the UN Economic Com- ing of the Prosecutors General of the with China’s Beijing Gas. mission for Europe and the UN Eco- SCO member countries held in Du-  According to the Agency on Statistics nomic and Social Commission for Asia shanbe, the participants discussed the of Tajikistan, in January-August 2018, and the Pacific (ESCAP). ways for jointly countering transna- the country’s revenues from the elec-  According to the UN World Population tional and organized crime, terrorism, tricity exports to neighboring countries Prospects, Ukraine is in the top 10 coun- tries with a fast depopulation rate. The extremism, and religious and political increased by $22.5 million, reaching population of Ukraine may reduce by radicalism. $62.2 million, which is a 56.6% in- 18% by 2050 because of the labor mi-  The Russian border guard ship “Bril- crease compared to the same period of gration. liant” arrived at the port to partic- 2017. During the reporting period, the  The Uzbekistan- Friend- ipate in a joint drill together with vessels volume of electricity production in the ship Society was established in Tash- of the State Border Guard Service of country amounted to over 13.5 billion kent, with the rector of the Tashkent Azerbaijan. The exercise was aimed at kWh, which is 10.1% more than in Jan- State Institute of Oriental Studies Abdu- improving cooperation on protecting bi- uary-August 2017. rakhim Mannonov named as its chair- ological resources of the Caspian Sea,  During the General Conference of the man. The activity of the society will be as well as combating smuggling and il- International Atomic Energy Agency focused on strengthening bilateral coop- legal migration. (IAEA) held in Vienna, the Russian nu- eration for ensuring peace and stability in the region.  According to the Ministry of Defense of clear fuel manufacturer Tenex signed a  The muftis of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, contract with the agency for the Tajikistan, more than 600 servicemen Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan signed an took part in the joint anti-extremism ex- transport of low-enriched uranium agreement on close cooperation, ex- ercise with Uzbekistan, which was held (LEU) and equipment through the Rus- change of experience and dissemination at the military range Chorukhdayron in sian territory to and from the IAEA of the values of Islam in their countries. the Sughd region. During the exercise, LEU Bank in Kazakhstan. The storage The document envisages the improve- the troops used not only light weaponry facility for the LEU Bank was inaugu- ment of the Islamic education systems but also unmanned aerial vehicles, rated in August 2017. in the four countries and coordination in tanks, armored vehicles, helicopters and  According to the State Statistics Service appointing the dates of Muslim holidays mortars. of Ukraine, in the second quarter of and organizing the pilgrimage.

Prepared by Lidiya Parkhomchik, Dauren Aben, Kanat Makhanov