On 15 November 2024, a meeting was held at the MFA of Turkmenistan between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov and the delegation headed by Secretary General of the International Turkic Culture Organization (TURKSOY) Sultan Raev.
During the meeting, the sides discussed present issues of cooperation and defined favorable fields of the partnership of Turkmenistan with TURKSOY. According to both sides, relations between Turkmenistan and TURKSOY have significantly intensified in recent years.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed gratitude on behalf of the President of Turkmenistan and the National Leader of Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan to the leadership of TURKSOY for the work carried out in Turkmenistan and abroad in the field of popularization of Turkmen culture, as well as emphasized the great contribution of the Organization to strengthening fraternal ties between the Turkic peoples on the basis of their cultural and fundamental values.
It was noted that in the present year substantial work has been accomplished on the arrangement of more than 40 different events in honor of significant dates within the TURKSOY, that is the declaration of 2024 as the “Year of the Great Poet and Thinker of the Turkic World - Magtymguly Fragi”, celebration of the 300th anniversary of the birth of the great classic of Eastern literature, and selection of the ancient Turkmen city Anau as the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World.
Among the most important events were the celebrations held in March of current year on the occasion of declaring the Anau city as the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World in 2024, as well as the launching ceremony of the events dedicated to the honorary status assigned to this city, the II Theatre Festival of TURKSOY Member Countries, the First Biennale of Fine Arts of the Turkic World, the annual meeting of museums’ leadership and the meeting of writers of TURKSOY Member Countries held in October, as well as the International Film Festival “Gorkut Ata”.
During the meeting, the interlocutors underlined the importance of closing celebrations dedicated to declaring the city of Anev as the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World in 2024, as well as the successive meeting of the Permanent Council of Ministers of Culture of TURKSOY Member Countries and the concert of the masters of arts of the Turkic states to be held on 16 November of current year.
The participants made special emphasis on the organizational matters of forthcoming joint events scheduled to be held in 2025.
The Secretary General of TURKSOY asked to convey to the President of Turkmenistan and the National Leader of Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan the book “Anev - Culture from the Depths of Millennia’ published in Turkish.
On the occasion of declaring Anev as the cultural capital of the Turkic world in 2024, TURKSOY organized contests of art works and compositions. During the meeting, S. Raev also presented to the Turkmen side a collection of works of the finalists of the art contest entitled “Turkmenistan and the Turkic World through the Eyes of Young Painters” and a collection of works of the winners of the contest “Magtymguly Fragi - Thinker and Poet”.
Also, the Turkmen side received the Report on the Activities of TURKSOY (October 2023-September 2024).
R.Meredov emphasized that Turkmenistan views TURKSOY as a bridge between ICESCO and UNESCO. It was also noted that TURKSOY is developing new formats of collaboration, in particular the Meeting of National Commissions for UNESCO of TURKSOY Member Countries.
At the end of the meeting, the interlocutors highlighted the effectiveness of cooperation between Turkmenistan and TURKSOY aimed at preserving, studying and promoting in the world the rich cultural heritage of the Turkic-speaking peoples.
