Secretary General of Turkic Council addresses OSCE Permanent Council

The Secretary General of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, Halil Akinci, addressed the OSCE Permanent Council on 15 December 2011 in Vienna, outlining the activities of his organization in and beyond its region as well as its approach towards relations with the OSCE.

Founded as a regional intergovernmental organization in 2009, the Turkic Council has consistently stressed its adherence to OSCE commitments, in particular the Helsinki Final Act, Akinci said.

“There is much reason to expect that the work of the OSCE could be enriched by a thriving community of co-operation among Turkic states, forging new links between the three important regions of Central Asia, Caucasia and the Middle East,” said Akinci. He highlighted the mention in a decision of the recent OSCE Ministerial Council in Vilnius of the essential role of Central Asian participating States in helping to promote long-term security and stability in Afghanistan, adding that this could be “a substantial area of future co-operation between the OSCE and the Turkic Council.”

He also highlighted transport dialogue as an area for potential co-operation.

Akinci concluded that “the Turkic Council, which should be seen as a product of regional ownership of the common objectives pursued by the OSCE, is ready to make its unique contribution to their achievement.”