Turkic Council marks 8th anniversary

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan marked on Tuesday the eighth anniversary of Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States.

Ramil Hasanov, secretary-general of the council, thanked the founding member states in a statement, calling them the "architects and permanent" supporters of the organization.

"We also would like to stress that with their support the council will continue to work in order to contribute to the settlement of peace and prosperity in the region and beyond," Hasanov said.

The Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States (Turkic Council) was established with the signing of the Nakhchivan Agreement on Oct. 3, 2009, a date marked as the Turkic Speaking States Cooperation Day.

The intergovernmental organization aims to promote cooperation among Turkic-speaking states.

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the council was an important regional platform for promoting solidarity among its members.

"Azerbaijan highly values its bilateral and multilateral partnership with the brotherly member states of Turkic Council and remains strongly committed to the objectives of the organization," the ministry said in a statement.