Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-Speaking Countries (TURKPA) was established on November 21, 2008, according to the Agreement hosted by the Turkish President of the time Abdullah Gül and signed by the Heads of parliaments of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, and the Republic of Turkey in the «Dolmabakhche Saray» located in Istanbul city, Republic of Turkey.[1]

On September 29, 2009, the 1st Plenary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-Speaking Countries (TURKPA) was conducted in the capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan Baku. The TURKPA Regulations, Articles of the Secretariat and the Baku Declaration were adopted at the plenary session. It was also determined that the TURKPA Secretariat would be settled in Baku city. In accordance with the aid and support from the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan İlham Aliyev, the necessary work environment was established for TURKPA’s activities.[2]

TURKPA already has close ties with the Turkic Council and TURKSOY. TURKPA defines those ties as “Turkic Cooperation”. Other partners in this cooperation are the Turkic Academy and the Turkish Culture and Heritage Foundation.[3] 

On the 10th anniversary of its establishment, TURKPA conducted its 8th General Assembly between 20-21 November 2018 in Izmir and was hosted by Turkey. Turkey has taken over the Presidency from the 7^th Term President which is the Kyrgyz Republic.[4] Apart from the Grand National Assembly President Binali Yıldırım, the meeting was attended by the President of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, Oktay Asadov, the Kazakhstan Assembly President, Nurlan Nigmatulin, and the Kyrgyz Assembly President, Dastanbek Cumabekov.[5] Within the context of the assembly, Grand National Assembly President Binali Yıldırım held a bilateral meeting with Laszlo Köver, the Assembly President of Hungary which had the status of an observer.[6]

During the two day meeting, Yıldırım stated “At the end of the meeting, we adopted a comprehensive joint statement with the alliance. This is the common declaration that we will call the ‘İzmir Declaration’. Throughout the TURKPA General Assembly’s 10th year activities and conferences, which have been going on for two days, the problems of the Turkish world were discussed in detail and its future vision and goals were put forward. However, the work was not limited to this. Issues of vital importance, such as the issue of immigration, protection of regional peace and security, threats to the sovereignty rights of countries, and the development of common language, culture and history awareness among countries, have been handled one by one. The will for resolving disputes like Karabakh, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was revealed and the opinions on this subject were clearly stated. I would hereby like to state that we, as Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, will display all our best efforts throughout our TURKPA term presidency to carry onward the efforts made in the light of developments in the world and the region. I express my gratitude to the Presidents of the Member States for their unlimited support to TURKPA”.[7]

Other important titles of Yıldırım's speech are as follows; To revive the bonds between us, which are based on the principle of fraternity, to bring more dynamism to cooperation, to strengthen the closeness and brotherhood between our peoples, is vitally important in the time of the world’s transformation that is filled with new threats. Our working with the spirit of cooperation and solidarity will give us the opportunity to realize the great potential of our countries. It will enable us to create a region of prosperity in the Eurasian region and provide power to overcome the current risks and challenges. We will be pleased to see both Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan as a member of the Turkic Council or TURKPA in the coming period.”

The President of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, Oktay Asadov, stated that the union between the Turkic-speaking countries has improved and that this is the result of sincere efforts. Asadov emphasized the importance of TURKPA’s members understanding each other and stated “Republics were established after the collapse of the Soviet Union. We could not see it in our dreams. Our dreams are slowly becoming real. It is important that the delegation of Uzbekistan is here as well. We moved our union one step further. This is the result of sincere efforts. The number of Turkish-speaking states is numerous”. The Kazakhstan Assembly President Nurlan Nigmatulin mentioned that the necessary infrastructure was prepared in order to host the meetings of TURKPA. He expressed that "We will continue our work to bring the friendship and brotherhood between Turkish states and their peoples closer". The Kyrgyz Assembly President Dastanbek Cumabekov stated that important issues were discussed in the general assembly and that these issues covered the changes in the world. Cumabekov emphasized that the union between Turkish-speaking countries plays a role in the construction of the future, and he stated "We will be the leaders of the best international institutions in the world if we are many".[8]

Yildirim stated that next year the meeting of the Assembly Presidents of the Eurasian region will be held in Kazakhstan and the Turkish Speaking Parliamentary Assembly will be held in Azerbaijan and the global and regional issues will be discussed in the meetings.[9]

It will be recalled this year, Turkey has also hosted the third meeting of the Eurasian Assembly Presidents. As we have pointed out in our previous articles, making Turkey home to two such organizations in succession during this period in which changes in the world’s political axis are becoming visible, is of importance regarding the display of the importance it attaches to Eurasia. TÜRKPA conducted its 10th anniversary meeting in İzmir, which, without a doubt, constitutes a new sign that Turkey is determined to develop its cooperation with the Central Asian countries through many channels.