The President of the Kyrgyz Republic H.E. Sooronbay Ceenbekov made the opening of the ceremony and it attended by ministers from various countries, deputies, head of the diplomatic mission, officials from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Islamic Education, Science and Culture Organization (ISESCO) and other international organizations, as well as a large number of guests from various parts of the Turkic world.
In his opening speech, President Ceenbekov emphasized the importance of the proclamation of Osh as the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World in the context of preserving culture, spiritual values, peaceful ideas, unity and solidarity, cultural diversity and tolerance.
The opening ceremony, which turned into a colorful visual feast with the participation of more than 250 artists from 12 countries, ended with a fireworks display. In the activities organized within the framework of the opening program, scientists, and artists, who came to Osh city from different regions of the Turkic World, were engaged in various theater performances, concerts, contests, exhibitions and conferences to promote, protect and transfer the rich cultural heritage of the Turkic people to future generations.
As may be recalled, upon the proposal of TÜRKSOY, the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World program was started to be implemented during the 10th Summit of the Turkic Speaking States held in 2010 in Istanbul. In the framework of the program, 2012 -Astana (Kazakhstan), 2013 - Eskisehir (Turkey), 2014 - Kazan (Tatarstan RF), 2015 - Merv (Turkmenistan), 2016 - Sheki (Azerbaijan), 2017 - Turkistan (Kazakhstan) and 2018 - Kastamonu (Turkey) and now for the first time Kyrgyzstan’s city of Osh, which is one of the ancient Turkic cities, will hold the 2019 Cultural Capital of the Turkic World flag and will host events and activities to be organized within this framework throughout the year.
Deputy Secretary General Gısmat Gozalov also attended the 7th Meeting of UNESCO National Commissions and Committees of TURKSOY Member Countries was held on 21th April in Osh-Kırgızistan on 21 April 2019 in Osh. During the meeting, Deputy Secretary General Gozalov provided information to the participants about the existing projects and activities of the Turkic Council as well as the Modern Silk Road Joint Tour Package.
