ANKARA: Final Statement Of 8th Summit Of Turkish-Speaking Countries

FINAL STATEMENT OF 8TH SUMMIT OF TURKISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES

Turkish Press
Nov 20 2006

ANTALYA – A final statement of the 8th Summit of Heads of State of
Turkish-Speaking Countries (held in southern city of Antalya) was
released on Friday.

President Ahmet Necdet Sezer of Turkey, President Nursultan Nazarbayev
of Kazakhstan, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and President
Kurmanbek Bakiev of Kyrgyzstan signed the final statement.

The statement underlined the importance of boosting cooperation among
Turkish-Speaking countries and in Eurasia region.

It stressed that Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline were important projects at
the international platform.

"Improvement in international transportation between Turkey and
Turkish-Speaking countries will create new opportunities and contribute
to economy of regional countries," it noted.

The final statement indicated that the Upper Karabakh issue, which was
an obstruction to lasting stability in southern Caucasus and regional
cooperation, should be solved through peaceful means in conformity
with Azerbaijan`s independence and its territorial integrity.

It stated, "solution of the Upper Karabakh issue will boost peace,
stability and prosperity in Eurasia."

"Heads of state (of Turkish-Speaking countries) underlined the
importance of joint fight against terrorism, proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction, drug smuggling, weapon smuggling, human smuggling
and other organized crimes," it stated.

The final statement noted that a global response must be given to
terrorism which became a global threat, stressing that any kind of
terrorism could not be justified.

Referring to the developments that took place in Afghanistan, Iraq,
Palestine and Lebanon, the statement indicated that activities and
initiatives aiming to ensure lasting peace and tranquility should
be supported.

"Turkish-Speaking Countries should work hard to boost cooperation
in the areas of economy, industry, agriculture, transportation,
communication and tourism," the final statement underlined.

It said that Turkish-Speaking Countries should fully support activities
and initiatives that aimed to strengthen historic and cultural ties
among themselves.

Underlining the importance of Turkey`s EU accession process, the final
statement indicated that Turkey`s EU accession would contribute to
political, economic and social development in the region and strengthen
ties between the region and the EU.

It stressed that a comprehensive solution should be found to the
Cyprus issue under the roof of the UN, stating that heads of state
of Turkish-Speaking Countries assisted the UN`s initiatives in regard
to lifting of isolations imposed on Turkish Cypriot people.