On March 31, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in the Informal Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, via videoconference.

The event, which was chaired by President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, was also attended by the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Elbasy, Honorary Chairman of the Turkic Council Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Zhaparov, President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban and Secretary General of the Turkic Council Baghdad Amreyev.

The parties exchanged views on the development of multifaceted practical cooperation in the economy, trade, transport, and strengthening cultural-humanitarian ties within the organization.

Special attention was paid to the legacy of the great poet and thinker Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, who made a great contribution to the development of a spirituality of all Turkic peoples. The Head of the state noted that Sahibkiran Amir Temur revered Ahmed Yasawi, who earned respect throughout the region for his spiritual-moral views, and erected a majestic mausoleum in his memory in the city of Turkestan.

Today, Ahmed Yasawi Mausoleum is considered a sacred place for all our fraternal peoples.

In his speech, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized that the Cooperation Council of the Turkic Speaking States, based on strong historical ties, common language, culture and spiritual values, is becoming an effective mechanism for regional cooperation.

The Head of the state forwarded an initiative to develop a strategy for economic cooperation of the Council for the short and medium-term, aimed at mitigating and overcoming the negative consequences of the ongoing global crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He focused on the need for the early restoration of trade, investment, cooperation and transport ties, their further development in the new conditions, the widespread introduction of e-commerce and digital technologies, fuller use of the opportunities of business circles and interregional cooperation.

The priority importance of strengthening industrial cooperation between the Turkic-speaking states and joint implementation of major investment projects, speeding up practical work for the creation and launching the activity of the Investment Fund and the Development Bank within the framework of the Turkic Council was noted.

President of Uzbekistan called for more effective use of the region's strategically important transport and transit potential, development of transport corridors across Central Asia to expand access to global markets in Asia, as well as routes leading to European markets through Azerbaijan and Turkey, and joint implementation of major projects to expand logistics infrastructure.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev focused on the relevance of the implementation of the Tabarruk Ziyorat project on organizing pilgrimages to sacred places located in the states of the Turkic Council, and for this purpose proposed to adopt a Program for the development of pilgrimage tourism.

Taking into account the great role of the great Uzbek poet, thinker and statesman Alisher Navoi in the spiritual-enlightenment life of the Turkic world, the President of Uzbekistan proposed to establish Alisher Navoi International Prize within the framework of the Turkic Council to promote achievements in science, education, literature, art, and social sphere and to stimulate efforts to strengthen the unity of the Turkic Speaking peoples.

The initiatives of the President of Uzbekistan received the full support of the summit participants.

Turkestan Declaration was adopted following the summit, which reflects the main agreements of the informal meeting.

The Eighth Summit of the Turkic Council is scheduled to be held in the fall of 2021 in the Republic of Turkey.

UzA