Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş was in Astana on Monday where he held talks with high-ranking officials, including Erlan Qoshanov, head of the Mazhilis, or lower house, of the Kazakh Parliament.
Kurtulmuş, who also met Maulen Aşimbaev, head of the Senate of Parliament and received by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said they were heading into an area where cooperation in every field between members of the Turkic world mattered more. “We have to stand together, shoulder to shoulder and walk toward common goals,” he said during his meeting with Qoshanov.
Kazakhstan currently holds the rotating presidency of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), an international body that raised its profile in recent years, with the contribution of Türkiye. Last week, member states announced the launch of a joint investment fund, after a March agreement on the sidelines of a summit in the capital Ankara. It is the latest step for the international bloc of countries sharing ethnic, cultural and historical ties. OTS includes Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan along with Türkiye and Kazakhstan. Hungary, Turkmenistan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) have observer status in the body. The member states of the OTS, formerly called the Turkic Council, boast a combined population exceeding 170 million, a trade volume of about $1.2 trillion and a gross domestic product (GDP) surpassing $1.5 trillion.
Kurtulmuş thanked Kazakh officials’ hospitality for him and his delegation during their visit to the “land of ancestors.” He underlined that “brotherly” relations between the two countries evolved into a bond that caters to the interests of both sides. He said bilateral relations elevated to high-level strategic cooperation would increase the volume in all fields, particularly the economy and commerce. “We will also accomplish efforts for work on our common history, cultural heritage. In parallel with extraordinarily harmonious cooperation between our governments, we have to improve close cooperation between our two Parliaments,” Kurtulmuş said.
For his part, Qoshanov stated that Kurtulmuş's visit would help to enhance bilateral and interparliamentary cooperation.
Reiterating that Türkiye and Kazakhstan are strategic and reliable partners, he expressed their appreciation for Türkiye's support to Kazakhstan and their pleasure in seeing the increasing brotherhood and friendship relations day by day. He also thanked the Turkish people and government for providing all kinds of support following the recent flood disaster in his country.
