On February 6, 2024, a meeting was held between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov and the Secretary General of the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY) Sultanbay Raev.
Current issues were put on the agenda of the meeting, and promising vectors of interaction between Turkmenistan and the TURKSOY organization were outlined.
During the meeting, it was noted that cultural interaction is the basis for Turkic-speaking countries to build their political, diplomatic, trade and economic relations.
S.Raev emphasized that in 2023, the 30th anniversary of the creation of the International Organization of Turkic Culture was celebrated at a high level. In this regard, it is indicated that within the framework of various Turkic-speaking structures, systematic work is being carried out to popularize the cultural heritage of the Turkic peoples, where TURKSOY over the years has established itself as the engine of cultural integration processes of the Turkic world.
The Head of the Organization also stated that 2024 is a landmark year for Turkmenistan in the Turkic-speaking world, since the leitmotifs of the current year are significant dates in the framework of TURKSOY – the announcement of “The Year of the great poet and thinker of the Turkic world – Magtymguly Fragi,” including the celebration of the 300th anniversary of birth of the great classic of Eastern literature, and the election of the ancient Turkmen city of Anau as the cultural capital of the Turkic world.
In this context, the parties discussed an extensive program of joint activities for holding upcoming events, their organizational and content aspects, both in Turkmenistan and in all member countries of the TURKSOY organization.
During the meeting, an exchange of views also took place on popularizing the work of the great poet and thinker of the Turkic world – Magtymguly Fragi, as well as the cultural significance of the ancient Turkmen city of Anau on various international platforms, such as TURKSOY, the UN, UNESCO and others.
The Turkmen side expressed gratitude to the Secretary General of the Organization for his creative work and assistance in making decisions on the motto and significant events of 2024 within the TURKSOY. ///MFA Turkmenistan, 6 Feb 2024