Cicek holds contacts in Turkmenistan

Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek who is on an official visit to Turkmenistan, was received by Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguli Berdimuhamedov at the Oguzhan Palace yesterday. Afterwards, Cicek met with Turkmenistan's Parliament Speaker Akca Nurberdiyeva at the Turkish Embassy in Ashgabat, where he delivered a speech. "Kyrgyzstan has an honorable place on the international scene and can be considered a relatively young state, established only 21 years ago. Our country has strong bonds with Kyrgyzstan and it is our earnest desire that Kyrgyzstan maintain its independence and stability. The Turkish-Kyrgyz ties cannot be seen as merely relations between two states. Rather, we are peoples who are the branches of the same tree. Our ties are of those between two brothers. Our relations are not guided by interests, but by camaraderie, fraternity and friendship. We look in the same direction and nurture the same feelings. Improving these fraternity-based ties in every field will be of benefit to both of our nations. I had conveyed these ideas to distinguished Almazbek Atambayev, the president of Kyrgyzstan, a country located at the most strategic location in Central Asia, during his visit to the Turkish Parliament on Jan. 12, 2012. Indeed, by establishing the Turkic-Speaking Countries Parliamentary Assembly (TURKPA), we provided our countries with a common organizational structure for our relations. With this organizational structure founded in 2008, we, as Turkic-speaking countries, did a very successful job. The purpose of this organization, whose foundation was laid down 20 years ago in Istanbul, is to improve ties among our countries. Those initial efforts eventually culminated into today's achievements. This is the very purpose of holding the TURKPA meeting in Kyrgyzstan. Improving our ties will be of benefit not only to the Turkic republics, but also to all countries in the region. One of our targets is to create a vast area of prosperity in Eurasia. After the 3rd General Assembly, which will be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan will become the TURKPA term president. Thus, young Kyrgyzstan will add power to its international mission. It is my wish that TURKPA will grow into a powerful international organization like the Council of Europe (CoE), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)," Cicek said.