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By News Centre

Following the joint alphabet studies, the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) took another step to strengthen the unity and solidarity of the Turkic states. Representatives of countries including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkey as members of OTS, and Hungary, TRNC, and Turkmenistan as observers, came together in Ankara yesterday with the aim of producing a joint Turkic world map.

The 1st Meeting of the Heads of OTS Mapping Institutions is being held at a hotel in Ankara with the participation of the heads of the mapping institutions of the member and observer countries and the country's military attachés. The meeting, which started yesterday, will continue today.

Deputy Minister of National Defense Şuay Alpay, who made the opening speech, stated that geography and maps have been of great importance throughout history. Alpay said, "When our ancestors established strong states, they used maps not only as a strategic management tool but also effectively in planning military operations."

Reminding that the mapping studies in Turkey were brought to a modern organization 129 years ago, Alpay stated that today the mapping organization has a distinguished position among its peers in the field of mapping with its technical facilities and capabilities and modern infrastructure.

'The Turkish world has become a center of attraction again'

Alpay, drawing attention to the fact that critical developments in the world have once again revealed the importance of uniting under the OTS roof, continued as follows:

"Thanks to the cooperation of the Organization of Turkic States in many areas, the Turkish geography, which has been the cradle of civilization for thousands of years, the Turkish world has once again become a center of attraction. The strategic vision and determination put forward by our esteemed heads of state on this issue, especially the new areas of agreement they reach at the annual summit of heads of state, are increasingly reinforcing the unity and power of the Turkish world."

Deputy Minister Alpay said that within this framework, they carried out activities to strengthen the institutional structure and network of relations of the organization and to take steps to deepen cooperation and solidarity, and that this meeting was one of the important examples of this.

Pointing out that activities in the geographical area have a strategic importance for countries, Alpay said , "We continue our work with this awareness, with increasing effort and by taking advantage of the technological opportunities required by the age."

'An important step'

Alpay stated that the rapid development and transformation of technology and the dizzying developments in the production and presentation of maps and geographic information have increased the need for countries to work together, and said that OTS, aware of this, has taken an important step today in order to add a new one to its existing areas of solidarity.

What is the aim of the project?

Şuay Alpay noted the following: "Within this framework, our goals with the establishment of the 'Cartography Working Group' are to transfer experience in map production between member countries, to provide mutual training and consultancy services, to establish standards for joint map production processes, to produce and prepare maps needed in projects undertaken within the OTS, to implement joint projects related to cartography and geographical databases, and to ensure the mutual exchange of data and maps produced by institutions."

'We will provide all our savings to the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States'

Emphasizing that OTS is a great brotherhood beyond political or economic interests, Alpay said, "In this context, our General Directorate of Mapping, which is Turkiye's national mapping institution, will be honored to provide all its deep-rooted experience to the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States and to benefit from the accumulation, efforts, and experiences of the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States in the field of mapping."

'I believe this special platform will act as a bridge'

OTS Deputy Secretary General Sadi Jafarov said that they are determinedly continuing their efforts to strengthen cooperation among Turkic states on more than 30 important issues.

Noting that today's meeting brought together representatives of both military and civilian mapping institutions, Jafarov said, "I wholeheartedly believe that this special platform will serve as an important bridge in the development of cooperation between our brotherly countries . "
Jafarov expressed his sincere belief that the meeting and its results will build a historical bridge between the Turkic States and lead to fruitful cooperation in this field in the future.

'We aim to produce a Common Turkish World Map'

The General Director of Mapping of the Ministry of National Defense, Major General Osman Alp, also noted that adding a new field of cooperation in the field of mapping to the studies carried out under the roof of OTS was evaluated as resolving an important deficiency.

Major General Alp spoke as follows: "Within this scope, with the 'Cartography Working Group' that we will lay the foundations for face-to-face meetings, we aim to provide technology transfer, experience transfer, mutual training and consultancy services for map production between member countries, to implement bilateral and multiple joint projects on geodesy, photogrammetry, cartography, remote sensing, digital mapping, mobile applications and similar issues, to establish standards for joint map production processes, to jointly prepare maps needed for projects undertaken within the OTS operating in many areas, and to produce a 'Common Turkic World Map' by a working group such as the Common Turkic Alphabet."

Following the speeches, the stands of institutions and companies operating in the field of mapping in Turkiye were opened. Deputy Minister of National Defense Şuay Alpay and his entourage toured the stands and received information.

TDT Mapping Working Group will be established

At the end of the meetings, it is planned to sign a declaration that includes the transfer of experience on map production, the provision of mutual training and consultancy services, the determination of opinions on the establishment of standards for joint map production processes, the determination of cooperation areas for digital cartography applications, the preparation of maps that OTS will need, and the mutual exchange of the data and maps it produces. Meetings will be held at least once a year under the coordination of the OTS Secretariat, and a OTS Cartography Working Group will be formed by preparing a declaration in English.

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