2 Sep 2018 20:05

Leaders of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Azerbaijan to discuss regional cooperation at Turkic Council summit on Monday

CHOLPON-ATA. Sept 2 (Interfax) - The leaders of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey will meet at the VI summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States (CCTS) in Cholpon-Ata on Monday, the Kyrgyz presidential press service told Interfax on Sunday.

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban are expected to attend the summit as honorary guests, it said.

"The participants in the Turkic Council summit will discuss interaction between the member states. The leaders will exchange opinions on regional cultural-humanitarian and trade-economic cooperation between the Turkic-speaking countries and prospects for the development of the organization itself and other Turkic institutions," it said.

The Turkic Council leaders will be meeting in Cholpon-Ata following a three-year pause. Following the summit, Kyrgyzstan will take over presidency of the organization.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Orban have already arrived in Kyrgyzstan.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been in Kyrgyzstan on an official visit since September 1.

After a meeting with Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov on Saturday, Erdogan underscored the importance of the upcoming summit, during which "the countries will discuss matters significant to the Turkic world."

"We are looking for extra opportunities on which we can cooperate, which concerns not only cultural and humanitarian aspects, but which should also involve economic cooperation," Erdogan said.