The General Assembly was attended by University Rectors, Vice-Rectors, high level officials and representatives of 49 universities from member and observer states, namely, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan and Hungary.
The Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan H.E. Kuanish Asilhanuli, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Khoja Ahmed Yassawi University Prof. Dr. Muhittin Şimşek, the Rector of the Khoja Ahmed Yassawi University Dr. Janar Temirbekova, delivered their opening remarks at the General Assembly that was moderated by the Deputy Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States Dr. Ömer Kocaman.
At the opening of the meeting congratulatory video message of H.E. Mustafa Şentop, President of the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Türkiye, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary Khoja Ahmed Yassawi University, was presented to the participants. Additionally, the message of the Chairman of the Council of Elders of the OTS H.E. Binali Yildirim was delivered to the audience by the Deputy Secretary General Ömer Kocaman.
Addressing the audience the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan H.E. Kuanish Asilhanuli referred to the proposals made by President of Kazakhstan H.E. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Samarkand Summit regarding deepening of cooperation among Member and Observers in the field of education and science through establishing a set of cooperation actions. The Deputy Minister also expressed his pleasure to meet with such an important structure and to attend its meeting and stated that he will present a report to President Tokayev about the activities of this cooperation platform.
During the meeting, the Deputy Secretary General Ömer Kocaman in his speech conveyed the congratulatory message of the newly appointed Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States H.E. Ambassador Kubanychbek Omuraliev, in which he emphasized the importance of cooperation in the field of education and science under the OTS and wished every success to the Rectors in their endeavors for the benefit of the Turkic World. The Chairman of the Khoja Ahmed Yassawi University Board of Trustees, Prof. Dr. Muhittin Şimşek and the Rector Dr. Janar Temirbekova emphasized the importance of the projects and initiatives conducted by the member universities of the Union to enhance multilateral coordination and cooperation in the field of science and education among the Turkic States.
Within the scope of the agenda of the General Assembly, Rector Dr. Janar Temirbekova presented a report on the activities carried out during the Chairmanship of Turkic University Union and proposed new agenda items for further cooperation to be incorporated into the Road Map for 2023-2024.
Parties discussed and decided to strengthen “Orkhun Exchange Program” by upgrading the existing Regulation, providing extra sustainable financial support and establishing the Working Group for handling the consolidation process of the Orkhun Exchange Program, which will be composed of relevant experts from the Member and Observer States.
Rectors accepted the new membership applications and touched upon other agenda items such as reviving the role of Student Council, designating the new Chairman in Office University among others and the need for new programs and projects for enriching the agenda of collaboration among the member universities of the Union. The parties also agreed to provide mutual access to the electronic libraries of the member universities.
During the meeting the new candidate universities for Union membership presented to the General Assembly their plans, strategies and programs for their prospective membership at the Turkic University Union. In this context, the OTS Secretariat emphasized the importance of all universities participating in the Union to develop a concrete joint project proposal.
At the meeting member Universities in consensus accepted the membership of following Universities: Kazakhstan – Kazakh National Pedagogical University, Aktobe Regional University, South Kazakhstan State Pedagogical University, Kazakh National Women's Pedagogical University, Almaty University of Management, East Kazakhstan University, Karaganda University, Türkiye - Kahramanmaraş Sütçü Imam University, İbn Haldun University, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Bahçeşehir University, Afyonkarahisar Sağlık Bilimleri University, Anadolu University, Beykent University and Uzbekistan - “Silk Road” International University of Tourism became new members of the Turkic University Union of the Organization of Turkic States.
Following the 6th General Assembly, bilateral Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on cooperation were signed between the Universities of the Union.
