Future of Turkic world in focus at media summit hosted by Anadolu

By Mehmet Yusuf Melikoglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - A panel titled "Future Vision of the Turkic World: New Areas of Cooperation" was held on Monday at the "Turkic News Agencies Media Summit" event hosted by Anadolu in Istanbul.

In the panel, the session moderated by Anadolu (AA) Academy and Publication Coordinator Yahya Bostan was attended by Presidential Security and Foreign Policies Board Member Prof. Aygun Attar, International Organization of Turkic Culture's (TURKSOY)'s Siberia Expert Dr. Timur Davletov and Haci Bayram Veli University International Relations Department's Deputy Head Assoc. Prof. Suay Nilhan Acikalin.

Bostan emphasized the importance of the Alliance of Turkish News Agencies (ATNA), which was officially founded earlier in the summit, and said that such steps should be taken for institutionalization.

The unipolar order that the US tried to establish has collapsed, Bostan said, adding that the US-led system is devoid of functioning international law, and international institutions, therefore have been completely nullified.

Countries started to form unions amongst themselves due to the collapsing order, Bostan also said, adding that the Turkic world also came together in this conjuncture.

The official also pointed out that there is a multifaceted cooperation within the Turkic world, from economy to trade to energy and transportation.

Pointing out that they started talking about adopting a common alphabet at the last Astana Summit organized by the leaders of the Turkic states, Bostan said, "With the shoulder-to-shoulder struggle of the two Turkic states in Karabakh, this unity began to be reflected in the field of defense," he said, referring to Azerbaijan's offensive to restore its territorial integrity.

"With the prospects of a common alphabet coming to the agenda, today we are much further ahead than yesterday. And we'll probably be much, much further ahead tomorrow than we are today."

- 'A cornerstone in Turkish history'

On the other hand, Prof. Attar stated that the ATNA "is a cornerstone in Turkish history."

Explaining that the role played by Türkiye in the Karabakh War was very important, Attar emphasized that with this role, the just cause of the Azerbaijani Turks was fully conveyed to the world.

"We are witnessing the same truth about Gaza," she said, adding that "innocent people are being slaughtered before our eyes, babies are being murdered."

"A genocide is taking place before our eyes."

Attar also said that "communication is the most important form of diplomacy."

- 'Powerful Türkiye, powerful Turkic world'

TURKSOY's Siberia Expert Dr. Davletov also stated that the Republic of Türkiye is taking firm steps towards the second century.

Stating that the flow of objective information to the world will be guaranteed when the powerful Turkic world is united in terms of journalism, Davletov said, "One of the results of a strong cooperation in the field of journalism is that during the 44-day Karabakh War won by Azerbaijan, the news agencies of the Turkic world provided objective information about the events in the region to both the global community and their peoples."

"The production and transmission of news towards this path is even more important in this period when techniques in the field of perception management and public opinion manipulation, as well as the spread of disinformation, have reached their peak," Davletov also said.

Underlining that news was very important in the ancient world, Davletov added that the establishment of the ATNA was a very necessary step and an important historical event.

- 'ATNA to have global ramifications'

Meanwhile, Haci Bayram Veli University's International Relations Department Deputy Head Assoc. Prof. Acikalin also noted that the recent steps taken by Turkish foreign policy in terms of bringing the Turkic states together are very important.

Expressing that an era has begun for both regional and global politics with the founding of ATNA, Acikalin said, "This step will have both regional and global ramifications."

"There are now wars and hybrid threats in the 21st century. Media plays a very critical role in the perception of wars nowadays," she added.

"This undoubtedly has a reflection on all fields. Because the conceptualization put forward by the media is also reflected in the academy," Acikalin also said.

She further stated that their aim is to create a common media language and fight against disinformation in the short term.

Underlining that a new field has been opened in the field of regional cooperation and international relations by taking a step in the field of media within the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in the medium term, Acikalin said, "Especially in a period when the United Nations has become dysfunctional and the world's institutions cannot respond to the problems currently faced by the world, the OTS, joint efforts in media and other sectors offer a new ray of hope."