The 40th session of the Permanent Council of TURKSOY Ministers of Culture took place in Shusha city
During the opening of the Cultural Forum of the Turkic World, Minister of Culture Adil Karimli emphasized the significance of the meeting, highlighting the numerous topics that will be discussed. He encouraged the active participation of the participants in the decision-making process.
Sultan Rayev, Secretary General of TURKSOY, noted the importance of this meeting coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkiye and the 30th anniversary of TURKSOY's establishment.
Kubanichbek Omuraliyev, Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States, expected that the meeting would be remembered for its important decisions.
Aydin Karimov, the special representative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Shusha region, highlighted that during an extraordinary meeting of the Permanent Council of Ministers of Culture of TURKSOY member countries in Bursa, Turkiye, on March 31, 2022, the city of Shusha was bestowed with the title of "Cultural Capital of the Turkic World" for the year 2023. Subsequently, President Ilham Aliyev signed an order outlining a number of measures to be implemented in Shusha in support of this designation.
Kayrat Imanaliyev, the Deputy Minister of Culture, Information, Sports, and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic, expressed satisfaction with being in Shusha and highlighted the potential for the meeting's decisions to enhance future cooperation between our countries.
Bahodir Akhmedov, the First Deputy Minister of Culture of Uzbekistan, praised the various important projects signed within the Turkic World in recent years, anticipating that they will further strengthen the unity among our peoples.
The Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkiye, Sardar Cham, praised the decision to host the meeting in Shusha, a city liberated from occupation through the valour of the Azerbaijani Army. He also noted that he had visited Shusha two years ago and was impressed by the city's transformation, describing it as notably beautiful.
Fikri Ataoglu, Deputy Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Minister of Tourism, Culture, Living, and Environment, expressed pride in Northern Cyprus being part of the Turkic World and commended TURKSOY's mission for promoting Turkic unity.
The meeting continued with speeches by Mehmet Sureyya Er, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TURKPA), President of the International Turkic Academy Shahin Mustafayev, and others.
Subsequently, the meeting proceeded in a closed format, where discussions took place on various mutual interests.