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ANKARA: Turkic Leaders Agree On Concrete Steps

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  • ANKARA: Turkic Leaders Agree On Concrete Steps

    TURKIC LEADERS AGREE ON CONCRETE STEPS

    Zaman, Turkey
    Nov 18 2006

    The eighth summit meting of Turkic speaking countries, hosted by
    Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer in Antalya, wrapped up.

    Meeting again after five years, the heads of Turkic language-speaking
    countries agreed on taking concrete steps in political, economic,
    and cultural cooperation.

    Sezer proposed highlighting the common features of Turkic-speaking
    countries. Kazakh President Nurzultan Nazarbayev supported Sezer's
    proposal: "Let's systemize cooperation among our businessmen.

    Turkey's experience in this regard suffices."

    The leaders discussed the safe transportation of Caucasian oil and
    natural gas, particularly Azeri and Kazakh resources, to Europe
    via Turkey.

    During the meeting, possible risks facing energy security and
    cooperation among the countries in countering terrorism and organized
    crimes were also discussed, foreign ministry sources said.

    Officials said that the most serious energy security issue was the
    overseas transportation of Caucasian oil, 30 percent of which comes
    from Azerbaijan and 70 percent from Kazakhstan, which might reach an
    output capacity of four million barrels a day in the future.

    Meeting calls for concrete steps

    The joint statement released at the closure of the meeting contained
    concrete steps to enhance cooperation.

    Building the Istanbul-Almaty railway was one of these steps.

    The statement supported Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and
    Turkey in the Cyprus and Iraqi Turkmen issues.

    Final Declaration

    The following are some points from the 27-item final declaration
    signed by the four leaders:

    Educational cooperation is significant to enforce and improve
    friendship among Turkic speaking societies, to create more closeness
    among future generations and to train qualified staff.

    Cooperation among parliaments, central and local administrations,
    media companies and trade associations must be supported because of
    its importance in improving social relations among societies.

    Completion of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum
    has international strategic significance. It is crucial to connect
    these pipelines to trans-Caspian projected pipelines.
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