Uzbek - Turkish civil society workshop was held
The 30th Anniversary of Turkey - Uzbekistan diplomatic relations workshop was held between the Uzbekistan Development Strategy Center and the Marmara Group Foundation, with the participation of Ambassador of Turkey to Tashkent, Olgan Bekar.
Eldar Tulyakov, who made the opening speech of the meeting, stated that this meeting paved the way for communication from people to people.
Dr. Akkan Suver on the other hand emphasized in his speech that today is a historical day and he mentioned the importance of opening a new page in the field of Turkish - Uzbek civil thought.
Afterwards, Turkish Ambassador Olgan Bekar took the stage and mentioned the importance of value of Turkish – Uzbek relations.
Alisher Kadyrov talked about the strategic partnership between Turkey and Uzbekistan, Farukh Khakimov talked about the Afghanistan policy of Uzbekistan and Shakhodat Khoshimova talked about the importance of the development of Uzbek-Turkish relations in the region.
At the end of the meeting, both sides gave souvenir gifts to each other.
The text of Dr. Akkan Suver's speech is as follows:
“Dear friends,
With this visit, we are opening a brand new page that will make an impact in history in terms of civil society relations between Turkey and Uzbekistan.
I greet you with my high belief that our workshop, the first of which we will start today, will contribute to the valuable works of H.E. Erdoğan and H.E. Mirziyoyev, who carried the relationship from the level of common history and common cultural heritage to the level of strategic partnership in 2016. On behalf of myself and my friends, I would also like to express my sincere thanks to my dear friend Eldar Tulyakov, who has established and improved our relations from past to present.
Uzbekistan, with its population of nearly 33 million, geostrategic position, deep-rooted history, rich cultural values and economic potential has an important place in terms of regional peace and stability. Based on the fact that the Turkish State attaches great importance to the improvement of cooperation in all fields and wishes to further develop its relations with brotherly Uzbekistan, we, as the Marmara Group Foundation, are excited to convey these relations from people to people, together with the Development Strategy Center in Uzbekistan, with our civil society identities.
First of all, I would like to introduce my friends to your high delegation.
Ambassador of Turkey in Uzbekistan, His Excellency Olgan Bekar honored our meeting today and we would like to thank him.
Mr. Cafer Okray is the Secretary General of the Marmara Group Foundation. He is the Founder of UDAS, a global private consulting and advisory firm based in Turkey. The company has worked with several global companies including companies from Italy, United Kingdom and Japan. These works include major infrastructure projects such as power plants, highways, dams, and water treatment plants throughout Turkey and Central Asia.
Mr. Abuzer Sarı is the Founder of Sigma Engineering Services. The company has accomplished successful projects both in Turkey and in several other countries, especially in Russia, Azerbaijan, Libya, Uzbekistan and Iraq.
Mr. Kazım Çelik has been the General Manager of Çelik Construction Co. and the Chairman of the Board Directors of Çelik Construction Materials Co. and Çeska Energy Co. His areas of interest consist of design and construction of conventional and specialized earthquake resistant structures located in highly seismic regions, import and export of chemical fertilizers, biomass, wind and solar power.
Mr. Oğuzhan Ceylan is the General Manager of Güzeller Educational Institutions, which consists of Private Adem Ceylan Final Technical College and Private Nurşen Ceylan Kindergarten. Oğuzhan Ceylan's educational background includes prestigious institutions such as Istanbul Technical University, London School of Economics, and Northwestern University.
Mr. Bilal Bilici is the General Manager of Polydist Turkey, one of the market leaders in the distribution and trade of polymers, chemicals and petroleum. Polydist works with global leading petrochemical suppliers from Turkey, Middle East, Europe, USA, Latin America and Asia. Bilici, who is also a member of the board of directors at Bilici Holding, continues to serve as the Honorary Consulate of Guatemala in Istanbul.
Last but not least, Çalık Holding's Tashkent Representative Ümidjon Alimov is present among us. As you know, Çalık Holding is a leading company in Turkey that makes us proud which operates in the fields of energy, construction, mining, finance, textile, telecom and digital in 5 continents and 31 countries.
Our cooperation, which we formed not only to improve our cultural relations but also to improve our economic and social relations in the global and regional dimension with our civil society identities, will set an example for other non-governmental organizations in the future.
First of all, I would like to state that 48 agreements were signed between Turkey and Uzbekistan in 2017 and 2018 and they paved the way for trust and stability.
With the abolition of visas, the people of the two brotherly countries had the opportunity to get to know each other better.
While the trade volume between Turkey and Uzbekistan is increasing day by day, the trade volume between the two countries is on its way to the target of 5 million dollars, as predicted by the two Presidents. Today, Turkey has become one of the four most important trade partners of Uzbekistan.
Turkey has especially attached great importance to Uzbekistan's membership to the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States in 2019 as this membership has given a new aspect to Turkey-Uzbekistan relations.
Even though the last two years have passed with the pandemic, the number of Turkish companies in Uzbekistan has reached around 1700 and the investment amount of these companies has reached 1 billion dollars.
Again, I would like to state in your high presence that the number of people employed by these 1700 companies is around 50,000.
As you can see, economic diplomacy is working between Turkey and Uzbekistan.
Our duty will be to develop and improve the culture diplomacy and our social relations.
As we know very well, Uzbekistan is one of the important centers of Religious Tourism with its historical landmarks and its place in the Turkish-Islamic world. Therefore, it could be said that Uzbekistan has an unquestionable place in terms of tourism.
As I sum up my thoughts I would like to emphasize that as the Marmara Group Foundation, as an NGO in Turkey, we can carry out activities that will create unity between Turkey and Uzbekistan and help our people get to know, understand and get closer to each other.
In particular, we can organize a session or a reception on Uzbekistan at the 25th Eurasian Economic Summit, which we will organize on June 7, 8, 9, 2022.
I would also like you to know that we are open to your comments and suggestions that we can realize during the three-day Summit.
On behalf of the Marmara Group Foundation, I would like to thank you for the hospitality, sincerity and friendship you have shown us and I respectfully greet your high delegation.”
Speakers of the workshop together
President of the Marmara Group Foundation Dr. Akkan Suver, Ambassador of Turkey to Uzbekistan Olgan Bekar, Secretary General of the Marmara Group Foundation Cafer Okray and Executive Director of Uzbekistan Development Strategy Center Eldar Tulyakov
Dr. Akkan Suver, Eldar Tulyakov and Ambassador Olgan Bekar
Ambassador Olgan Bekar and Alisher Kadirov
