On the sidelines of the forum, representatives of Turkic states signed a declaration on the establishment of the Association of Turkic News Agencies.

The document was inked by the Board Chairman and Director General of the Turkish Anadolu Agency Serdar Karagöz, the Board Chairman of the Azerbaijani news agency AZERTAC Vugar Aliyev, the Director of the Kyrgyz news agency Kabar Mederbek Shermetaliev, the Board Chairman of the Kazakh news agency Qazcontent Bekzat Zhusupov and the Director General of the Uzbek news agency UzA Abdusaid Kuchimov.

The signed document talks about unity and broad cooperation between news agencies on the issue of editorial policy, collective training, and practical journalism.

“The parties agreed to establish the Association of Turkic News Agencies (ATNA) with the aim of strengthening cooperation in the field of news production, ensuring the exchange of reliable information, gaining experience, as well as developing and implementing joint projects in the future,” the document notes.

The signing ceremony of the declaration was also attended by the head of the Communications Department of the Turkish Presidential Administration Fahrettin Altun, the Chairman of the Council of Elders of the Organization of Turkic States Binali Yildirim, and the OTS Secretary General Kubanychbek Omuraliev.