Ankara to host media forum of Turkic-speaking countries

Ankara next week will host a media forum for Turkic-speaking countries. Co-hosted on Dec. 21-22 at the Rixos Hotel by the Directorate General of Press and Information and the Foreign Ministry's Center for Strategic Research, the forum will bring together journalists and media outlet representatives from across the Turkic world. About the forum, Murat Karakaya, the head of the Directorate General of Press and Information, said the directorate wants to make Turkey a reference hub for the press as well as forge media cooperation with neighboring countries. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to deliver a speech on the first day of the forum, which is set to address such issues as the media's effect on democratization and globalization, the role of the media and nongovernmental organizations in improving economic, social and cultural cooperation in the Turkic world, the media's position in the Turkic world, and the media's role in public diplomacy.