Turkish Parliament hosted the First Meeting of Chairs of Defense Committees of TURKPA Member Parliaments

On 22-24 May 2024, the First Meeting of the Chairs of the Defense Committees of TURKPA Member Parliaments hosted by the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (GNAT) was held in Ankara. The theme of the meeting held within the framework of the GNAT chairmanship of TURKPA was "Defense and Security Architecture among TURKPA Member States". The meeting was attended by the Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the Defense Committees of the parliaments of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, as well as the TURKPA Secretary General, members of the GNAT delegation to TURKPA, other parliamentarians and officials. The opening session was addressed by the TURKPA Chairman-in-Office and Speaker of the GNAT Numan Kurtulmuş through video conference, Chair of the National Defense Commission of the GNAT Hulusi Akar and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye Hakan Fidan. Chair of the Committee on Defense, Security and Anti-Corruption of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ziyafat Asgarov, Vice-Chair of the Committee on International Relations, Defense and Security of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Darkhan Kydyrali, Vice-Chair of the Committee on International Affairs, Defense, Security and Migration of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic Eldar Suleymanov, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Issues of Defense and Security of the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Kozimjon Tojiev, Chair of the Committee on Legal, Political Affairs and Foreign Relations of the Assembly of the TRNC Yasemin Öztürk and TURKPA Secretary General Mehmet Süreyya Er delivered speeches during the event. “The Turkic world is destined to be one of the important actors of the coming multipolar world. We would like to state clearly that the unity, cohesion and marching towards a common future among the Turkic world is not a threat to world peace, on the contrary, it is an opportunity and a possibility to ensure world peace,” Head of Parliament Numan Kurtulmuş said. Chair of the National Defense Commission of the GNAT Hulusi Akar highlighted the importance of defense and security issues in terms of strategic cooperation, emphasizing the need for continued collaboration and awareness. In his remarks, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan underscored the significance of parliamentary engagement in fostering a unified approach to national security within the Turkic world. In their speeches, the participants highlighted the value of the meetings between the specialized committees within the framework of TURKPA, which facilitate the exchange of experience on good practices and cooperation in the field of legislation. In his address, Secretary General Mehmet Süreyya Er stated that TURKPA, as a parliamentary cooperation platform of Turkic states, has necessary infrastructure to contribute to the defense and security architecture of Turkic states. He noted that such meetings represent an efficient mechanism for direct interaction between the defense and security committees of the parliaments. On 23 May 2024, the delegation had an opportunity to visit the Secretariat of Defense Industries of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, where they were informed about the activities of this institution. On the following day, the delegation visited Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and ASELSAN in Ankara. The delegation was given a tour of the TAI production line and received a briefing on the company's work. Then they visited the ASELSAN's Akyurt campus, where they attended a briefing on the company's activities and products. On 24 May 2024, the delegation paid a visit to Özdemir Bayraktar National Technology Center in Istanbul. A social program was also organized within the scope of the event. The program concluded with a visit to Bozdağ Film Plateaus, where many important series such as “Diriliş Ertuğrul” and “Kuruluş Osman” that reached a wide audience in the Turkic world, were filmed.