Azerbaijan, Baku, 11 November / Trend corr. A.Huseynbala/ Baku will host a summit of the heads of the Turkic speaking countries in the first quarter of 2009, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Hulusi Kilic said to journalists on 11 November.
The heads of states will discuss the prospects of cooperation among Turkic speaking countries and will exchange views on the situation in these countries.
The initiative to hold the summit in Baku was voiced by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Baku during the 11th meeting of the Turkic Speaking States' and Communities' Friendship, Fraternity, and Cooperation Foundation (TUDEV) in November 2007. According to Erdogan, the summit of the Turkic speaking countries will lay the fundament of a new subregional association like the League of Arab States.
The first summit of the heads of the Turkic speaking countries, including Kazakhstan, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan, took place in Ankara in 1992. Further summits were held in Istanbul, Bishkek, Tashkent, Astana, Baku and Antalya.
The Speakers of the Turkic speaking countries' Parliaments will gather in Istanbul on 20-21 November to discuss establishment of a Parliamentary Assembly.
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