10th Extraordinary Meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers of Turkic Council held in Hungary

The 10th Extraordinary Meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States (Turkic Council) was hosted by Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, on September 19, 2019 at the premises of the Representation Office of the Turkic Council in Hungary, Trend reports with reference to the press office of Turkic Council.

The Secretary General of the Turkic Council Ambassador Baghdad Amreyev, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan Chingiz Aidarbekov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Hungary Nurbah Rustemov on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan took part in the meeting, which was held on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the Representation Office of the Turkic Council in Hungary.

Parties highlighted the importance of opening the Turkic Council’s Representation Office in Budapest, that would not only strengthen the relations of the Turkic Council with Hungary, but it would also help increasing the cooperation of the Turkic Council with the EU and European institutions. It was also emphasized that the Office would open new avenues for further collaboration of Hungary with the affiliated and related bodies of the Turkic Cooperation Organizations namely; TURKSOY, TURKPA, Turkic Academy, and Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation.

Ministers discussed the ongoing preparations of the upcoming Presidential Summit of the Turkic Council to be held on 15 October 2019 in Baku. Ministers warmly welcomed Uzbekistan’s recent accession to the Turkic Council. They considered the issues of Turkic Council’s vision of 2025, as well as the application of Hungary to obtain Observer Status at the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation.

Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary introduced Ambassador Janos Hovari, famous Turkologist and former Ambassador of Hungary to Turkey, to the CFM and expressed his nomination as the Executive Director of the Office.

Following the CFM Meeting, opening ceremony of the Office was conducted with the participation of over 200 guests from the Member States, Hungary and the diplomatic community in Budapest. At the ceremony, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Establishment of the Representation Office was signed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States and Hungary. Ministers and the Secretary General delivered speeches on the significant role of the Office for a greater cooperation among the Turkic Speaking Countries. Ministers and the Secretary General cut the ribbon symbolizing the operationalization of the Representation Office of the Turkic Council in Hungary. The event also has attracted a wide coverage of the media outlets from Hungary and the Member States.

The Ministers and the Secretary General attended the official lunch hosted by Minister Szijjártó at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary.

The Ministers and the Secretary General were received by the Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban. They briefed the Hungarian Prime Minister Orban on deepening relations between the Member States of the Turkic Council and Hungary since the Cholpon-Ata Summit which is crowned with the opening of the Representation Office in Hungary, enlargement of the Turkic Council with the membership of Uzbekistan, future prospect of the ongoing cooperation under the roof of the Turkic Council, as well as the 7th Summit of the Turkic Council which will be participated by Prime Minister Orban. Head of the Hungarian Government shared his ideas and vision concerning Hungary’s growing interest in developing closer ties with the Turkic Speaking States and the Turkic Council.

Secretary General was accompanied by two Deputy Secretaries and the Project Directors.