NURSULTAN NAZARBAYEV: UNITY OF THE TURKIC WORLD

"Kazakhstan, the ancestral home of the Turks - the sacred "Qara shańyraq". From here, Turkic tribes and peoples left our steppes to different parts of the world, making a significant contribution to the historical processes in other countries and regions."

N. Nazarbayev, "Seven Facets of the Great Steppe".

In the era of impressive globalization trends, the aspect of preserving national values and strengthening the genetic code of the people remains an important component.  In historiography, researchers identify Turkic civilization as one of the "viable" and made a valuable contribution to world history. According to scientific research, about 150 million people inhabit the territory with a total area of 4.2 million square kilometers - this is more than 40 Turkic peoples. The historical greatness of the Turkic peoples is expressed in the unique subtleties of military art and diplomacy, the secrets of the technology of mining and processing of precious metals, philosophical treatises and unsurpassed poetic masterpieces, a huge encyclopedia of medical knowledge and many other vital aspects of humanity. The importance of the Great Silk Road has always been recognized by the world community as invaluable.

The year 1992 has a special place in the historical calendar of the Turkic civilization, which is full of turning points for many centuries. At the dawn of the independent countries of Central Asia, building a policy of a multipolar world, the First President of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev initiated the creation of an integration association of fraternal Turkic peoples at the first Summit of the leaders of the Turkic states.

In the book "In the flow of history", referring to the "fundamental lessons of the past", Nursultan Abishevich writes: "...And now, when I call to realize our common cultural and historical destiny, I do not mean separation or isolation from other cultural poles… Understanding the greatness of the historical mission imposes a huge responsibility on us and requires us to make every effort to fulfill it. The combined efforts of our states will determine whether the region’s future history will consist of contradictions arising from different approaches to solving problems of nation-building, whether it will undergo breaks and cracks along the lines of contact of different national cultures, or whether we will be able to reach the level of awareness of the need to strengthen Turkic unity so that, being a joint, single cultural and civilizational complex, we will not get lost in the stormy waves of modern history. Only then, under the protection and shade of our common cultural identity, will we be able to fulfill our moral duty to our common ancestors, as well as to our descendants."

In the new historical circumstances, the call of a political leader from the center of Eurasia – the First President of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev became one of the stages of the renaissance of the Turkic civilization.  The strategic vision of Nursultan Abishevich is not to interrupt the centuries-old history facing the challenges of history, to revive the interstate relations of the Turkic world.

In historical memory, the key dates of the high-level meetings are:

- 1992-2019 years. Summits of the leaders of the Turkic states in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan.The adopted documents outline the priorities of constructive interaction aimed "at strengthening the political and economic security of countries in compliance with the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, inviolability of borders and non-interference in internal affairs and refraining from the threat or use of force."

The block of key areas of cooperation includes topical aspects of the development of economic relations, issues of national and regional security, implementation of social and cultural initiatives, and establishing a dialogue with international organizations.

Hungary has been granted observer status in the Turkic Council since 2018. Thus, a concrete step has been taken in expanding relations with the European Union countries.  Turkmenistan takes an active part in the work of the Summits and is considering obtaining observer status.

- October 2009, Nakhichevan (Azerbaijan), IX Summit of heads of Turkic-speaking states. The First President of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev, reminding the edification of Ataturk about the unity of fraternal peoples and noting the need to build up constructive political and economic cooperation between the Turkic-speaking countries, initiates the creation of an interstate integration alliance. "To this end, I submit a proposal from Kazakhstan for consideration at today's Summit to create a "Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking states", which has all the necessary features of a political regional association, legal status and certain organizational structures, or in other words, a Turkic Council."

The strategic initiative of the First President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Abishevich to create an integration association was supported by the political leaders of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. This event is the culmination of the results of diplomatic negotiations within the framework of nine summits of the heads of Turkic-speaking states and the beginning of a new equal dialogue of effective regional cooperation for the benefit of the present and future of the Turkic peoples.

2011. The First Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking states, Almaty. In this significant historical year of the 20th anniversary of the sovereignty of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, political leaders outlined the key positions of regional integration. Among the current topics discussed on the agenda of the memorable event are improving the investment climate, trade and economic relations, expanding logistics routes and transport, preserving the environment and replenishing natural resources.

The Almaty Summit opened a new chapter in the evolutionary development of fraternal peoples with common historical origins. Addressing the participants of the significant event, the First President of Kazakhstan N.Nazarbayev stated: "The most important thing is that we need our will and determination to unite and cooperate. Only then can we become one of the world's leading competitive countries."

2012, Istanbul. The official ceremony of raising the flag of the Turkic Council. "Today’s historic event took place on my fifth official visit in 20 years. We all dream of bringing together the Turkic countries under one flag. It is a very joyful day when we raise our banner. A lot of work has been done in this direction. And it has a great contribution from Turkey and Kazakhstan," Nursultan Abishevich said in his welcoming speech.

The single flag represents life and water (the blue color of nomadic peoples), peace, purity and the desire for unity (the white color), and the crescent as the main religion of the Turkic peoples. The historical symbol is based on the deep philosophy of the peoples of the Turkic Khaganate, who cherish their historical memory and sacred heritage.

2019. Expanding the geography of regional interaction between Turkic-speaking states. Uzbekistan decides on membership in the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking countries. This was a significant stage in strengthening the multilateral full-fledged interaction of the integration alliance aimed at economic growth and improving the well-being of the Turkic peoples.

At the proposal of Turkish President Recep Erdogan, in October 2019, within the framework of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking states (CCTS) in Baku, N. Nazarbayev was awarded the highest order of the Turkic world, and was also elected Honorary Chairman of the Turkic Council for life, this became an event of global scale and significance. Taking part in the Summit of the Turkic Council in Baku, the First President of Kazakhstan-Elbassy N. Nazarbayev expressed sincere gratitude for the recognition of his titanic efforts in restoring the historical ties of the fraternal Turkic peoples: "I will do my best to further develop and strengthen friendship and cooperation between the Turkic states. This is a great honor, and I will continue to take an active part in the work of our common home, created on my initiative."

Without abdicating all responsibility for the political decisions made earlier as the head of the country, N. Nazarbayev proposed "to start forming new horizons for the common Turkic future. I have two suggestions in this regard. First, to develop the "Turkic vision 2040" program. It should reflect the long-term goals of the Turkic-speaking community and ways to achieve them." Along with such priorities for effective interaction of countries as "foreign policy and soft power, trade and transit, tourism, investment, energy and green economy, small and medium-sized business, culture and education, youth policy and healthcare, digitalization and artificial intelligence, as well as the development of the Turkic cradle – the city of Turkestan, where Kazakhstan has currently launched an extensive construction project."

With the creation of the global integration association, the peoples of the Turkic Council have gained considerable opportunities for economic growth and the enhancement of human capital.  A purposefully created institutional platform for effective and constructive dialogue is now successfully functioning - the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking countries (Turk PA), the Council of Elders, the Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY), the Turkic Academy, the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation. Each structure of the Turkic Council makes an invaluable constructive contribution to the implementation of joint economic, social and cultural projects and the promotion of the idea of the unity of the Turkic peoples.

In May this year, when the whole world was quarantined, as a sign of confirmation of the unity of the Turkic peoples, musicians of the Turkic - speaking countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Bashkortostan (Russia), Uzbekistan and Turkey in an instrumental synchronous tandem on 17 different folk instruments played the song "Tau ishinde" by Saken Seifullin.

In the epochal chronology, the ancient history and ties of generations of geographically distant, but close in spirit ancestors of the fraternal peoples of the Great Silk Road are not interrupted.

The role and titanic contribution of the First President of Kazakhstan – Elbassy Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev in the renaissance of the Turkic concept is exceptional.  The true witnesses of this are the memory of the past, eyewitnesses of the present and the future of the peoples of the independent Turkic states.