Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer opened the 8th Summit of Heads of State and Government of Turkish-Speaking Countries in Antalya in November 2006, urging member states to deepen collaboration on security and development amid sweeping global changes.
Sezer called on the Turkic nations to pursue long-term, values-based policies and to strengthen ties grounded in mutual respect, equality, and shared interests. He also encouraged Turkish business leaders to expand investments in Turkic republics while welcoming reciprocal investment in Türkiye.
On energy, Sezer highlighted the inauguration of the Aktau-Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline as a product of regional cooperation, and announced plans to open the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline before year's end.
The president identified Eurasian stability as a central goal of Turkish foreign policy and said a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, within Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, was essential to peace in the South Caucasus. He pledged continued support for Azerbaijan on the issue.
Sezer also cited terrorism, fundamentalism, separatism, illegal migration, and trafficking in drugs and weapons as serious threats to the region, saying Türkiye's own long experience with terrorism made counter-terrorism cooperation a top priority.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in November 2006, in its own words.