Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul at his presidential residence in Azerbaijani northern city Gabala on August 15.

Gabala hosts the Third Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (CCTS) on August 15-16.

During the meeting, the presidents stressed the importance of the CCTS Summit in Gabala, noting it will contribute to the bilateral and multilateral cooperation among the Turkic-speaking countries in political, economic, humanitarian and other fields.

They hailed the rapid development of the bilateral ties, as well as cooperation in energy area between the two countries.

The two leaders also exchanged views on a range of other issues of mutual concern, including the current state of peace talks to settle the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Later, President Aliyev met Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev at the presidential residence in Gabala.

The presidents stressed the importance of the Summit in Gabala. They noted the Summit would give impetus to the bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the political, economic, humanitarian and cultural fields.

Presidents Aliyev and Atambayev hailed development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan. The Heads of State said there were good prospects for cooperation in the field of transport.

During the conversation, the presidents also exchanged views on other issues of mutual concern.

Following the meetings, Presidents Aliyev, Gul and Atambayev attended a concert held on the sidelines of the Summit in Gabala.

The presidents were first presented keepsakes on the 20th anniversary of the founding of TURKSOY.

The three presidents then had a short conversation, which was followed by a concert featuring performance of the State Chamber Orchestra after Gara Garayev conducted by People's Artist of Azerbaijan Teymur Goychayev.

The meeting of organization's foreign ministers was held in Gabala on August 15.

The Turkic Council is an international organization established by the Nakhchivan Agreement signed among Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey in 2009 with a purpose to make a joint contribution to peace and stability in Eurasia. The organization's secretariat is located in Istanbul.

Since its establishment, the Turkic Council has taken concrete steps to promote cooperation in the Turkic world. For the first time in history, different ministers responsible for different spheres of cooperation came together within the framework of the Turkic Council.