ANTALYA - The 8th Summit of Heads of State & Government of Turkish-Speaking Countries began in the southern Turkish city of Antalya on Friday.
President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, President Kurmanbek Bakiev of Kyrgyzstan and Turmenistan`s Ambassador to Turkey Nurberdi Amanmuradov are attending the summit hosted by Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer at Antalya`s Talya Congress Center.
Also Turkish Foreign Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul and State Minister Mehmet Aydin are attending at the summit.
The summit is expected to focus on steps on further consolidation of friendly relations and cooperation among participating countries and on strengthening of peace and stability in the region.
Leaders will exchange views over bilateral, regional and international issues.
The first summit of Turkish-Speaking Countries took place in Ankara on October 30th-31st, 1992, and the second in Istanbul on October 18th-19th, 1994.
Istanbul hosted the previous summit on April 26th-27th, 2001.
Meanwhile, tight security measures have been taken in and around the Congress Center.