President Abdullah Gül said on Thursday that the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States (Turkic Council) was founded with the aim of 

contributing to the welfare of Turkic nations and the stability of the region, and that the council has succeeded in the majority of its goals.

“In creating the Turkic Council, we aimed to boost cooperation with the strength that we get from each other. Our intention was to increase regional cooperation and create new synergies by supporting the regional cooperation mechanism. … That way, we thought we could contribute more to the welfare of our nations and the stability of our region, and encourage cooperation and solidarity among us. I am happy to see that we have succeeded in the majority of these targets,” Gül said during an address at the fourth summit of the Turkic Council, which was held in the port city of Bodrum.

Gül described the Turkic Council as a symbol of unity and solidarity among Turkic nations and said the council was founded with the idea of “United we stand, united we are stronger.” The council creates an institutional framework for multilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. The Turkish president said solidarity is essential in taking advantage of opportunities and tackling risks that countries in the region may face.