The sixth Turkic-speaking Country's Summit commenced in Istanbul today and will end tomorrow with a declaration of a final communique.

The summit has been held on a regular basis since 1992, when the first meeting took place in Ankara. Last years summit was held in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer is hosting the summit. Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kyrgyzstan's President Askar Akayev, Turkmenistan's President Saparmurad Turkmenbasi and Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev are all attending. At the last minute, Uzbekistan's President Islam Kerimov revealed that he would not but instead sent Speaker of Uzbek Parliament, Erkin Halilov who will represent his country. Kerimov did not attended last year's Baku summit either. State Minister Abdulhaluk Cay said, during a press conference, that the summit would be an important instrument for discussing the latest developments in Turkic-speaking countries. Drawing attention to the fact that the participation of all presidents is of vital importance, a source close to the government previously told TDN: "Of course there will be some important subjects on the agenda of the summit, including those of revitalizing the historic Silk Road, cultural exchange programs, joint restoration programs of historic monuments and buildings and trade and economic issues. The secretariat establishment issue is expected to be finalized at the summit." The Baku-Ceyhan pipeline project, which will transport Azerbaijani oil to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, and the trans-Caspian pipeline project, which will transport Turkmen natural gas to Turkey and the European market will also be discussed.