Ankara hosts international conference dedicated to Kazakh capital

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - The International Conference "Uly Dala Astanasy" ("The Capital of the Great Steppe") was held in Ankara. There was a presentation of Uly Dala Astanasy ("ASTANA Ulu Bozkır Başkenti") book in Kazakh and Turkish, Kazinform cites the press service of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Republic of Turkey.

"We will never forget the words of wisdom of the President of Kazakhstan: 'First of all, Astana is the symbol of our freedom, the embodiment of our citizenship, the chronicle of the contemporary history of Kazakhstan, the evidence of intensive development of the country, the unity of Kazakhstanis," Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to Turkey Abzal Saparbekuly underlined.

The international forum was attended by Turkish President's Chief Adviser Yalcin Topcu, ex-Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Hikmet Cetin, Chairman of the Authoritative Council of the Ahmet Yesevi University Musa Yildiz, and other officials, representatives of foreign diplomatic institutions, and businessmen.

Abzal Saparbekuly emphasized that Turkey is of particular importance in Kazakhstan's foreign policy priorities as this state was the first to recognize the independence of our country.

Mr. Saparbekuly also reminded that Turkish investors and entrepreneurs were actively involved in the construction of Astana. Turkish construction companies built Khan Shatyr, the National Museum, Baiterek, the Samal district, the Diplomatic Town, the Parliament buildings, Telecom office, the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, the Mega Silk Way Astana, and many other structures.

The Chief Adviser to the President of Turkey Yalcin Topcu pointed out that in the future, such words as "the First President", "Aksakal of the Turkic world Nursultan Nazarbayev" and "Astana city" will become one notion and will be mentioned together.

Uly Dala Astanasy contains about 30 expert articles written by former Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, ex-Chairman of the Turkish Parliament Hikmet Cetin, to name but a few.

The materials are dedicated to Astana and its creator, Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The collection begins with an article by Abdullah Gul, who emphasizes that the formation of Astana as a new metropolis resulted from Nursultan Nazarbayev's strategic policy, his wisdom and vision.

The reports on the construction and development of Astana were made by President of the Ankara Centre for Crisis and Policy Studies (ANKASAM) Mehmet Seyfettin EROL, TIKA Deputy Chairman Mehmet Sureyya Er, Chairman of the Eurasian Union of Writers Yakub Omaroglu, and YDA Board Member Cuneyt Arslan.

The meeting was followed by a gala reception dedicated to the Day of Astana.