At the first official high level meeting after the 6th Summit of the Turkic Council convened on 3 September 2018 in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, where Hungary was granted Observer Status at the Turkic Council, Parties held talks on enhancing cooperation between Hungary and the Turkic Council and on the practical steps to be taken in the upcoming period to incorporate Hungary into the ongoing cooperation projects undertaken by the organization.
Secretary General Amreyev provided HE. Szijjártó and HE. Kövér with extensive information about the substance of all cooperation areas as well as the calendar of upcoming ministerial and expert level meetings. He invited the respective Hungarian Ministers to the forthcoming meetings of the ministers of ICT, transport, education, and tourism planned to be held in the first half of 2019 in the Member States.
Secretary General also informed the Hungarian Foreign Minister and the Speaker of Parliament about Turkic Council’s increasing visibility in the international arena with links of stronger partnerships with various credible international organizations beginning first and foremost with the UN and its Agencies such as UNAOC, UNDP, UNOSSC, UNWTO as well as OIC, ECO, OSCE, WCO, CICA and BSEC. Parties exchanged views on the pending observer status bids of the Turkic Council in the UNGA and OIC.
Informing the Secretary General on the new foreign policy orientation of Hungary since 2010 onwards, dubbed as the “Eastern Opening”, both Foreign Minister Szijjártó and Speaker of Parliament Kövér underlined the rising importance of developing solid cooperation between Hungary and the Turkic Speaking Countries and the Turkic Council, as well as reiterated their readiness for opening a new chapter in Hungarian-Turkic cooperation. Calling the Cholpon-Ata Summit an important occasion in the sense that Hungary became an Observer Member of the Turkic Council, Secretary General stated that the Summit was a historic moment for the Turkic Council since the organization realized its first enlargement since its foundation with Hungary’s obtention of Observer Status.
Parties discussed at length the proposal of Hungary to open a representation office of the Turkic Council in Budapest. Foreign Minister Szijjártó and Speaker of Parliament Kövér expressed that opening the representation office of the Turkic Council in Budapest would enhance Council’s relations with Hungary as well as help strengthen its ties with the EU and similar European institutions such as OSCE, OECD and Visegrad Group while contributing to the visibility of the organization in Europe at the same time. They expressed that the Office could also undertake the coordination of Hungary’s relations with other Turkic Cooperation Organizations such as; TÜRKSOY, TÜRKPA, Turkic Academy, and Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation.
Secretary General briefed HE. Szijjártó and HE. Kövér about the 7th Summit of the Turkic Council to be convened in Azerbaijan on 3 October 2019. Parties also talked about Turkic Council’s ongoing cooperation with brotherly Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
On the occasion of the visit, the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey in Budapest, Ahmet Akif Oktay, hosted a dinner in honour of the Secretary General Amreyev on 15 January 2019 with the participation of the Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan Vilayat Guliyev, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nurbakh Rustemov, Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic Bakyt Jusupov, the Representative of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Selda Çimen and Hungarian officials.
Secretary General was accompanied by the Deputy Secretary General Ömer Kocaman and Project Director Ali Çiviler in the official visit.
