The Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking Countries (TURKPA) was established by the Agreement signed by the Heads of Parliaments of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Türkiye on November 21, 2008, at the Dolmabahche Palace in Istanbul. TURKPA renamed as Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States in 2022, is an important institution that plays a crucial role in furthering the cooperation between independent Turkic states. 

On September 29, 2009, the First Plenary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (formerly known as the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking Countries) was held in Baku, the capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Rules of Procedure of TURKPA, Regulations of the Secretariat and the Baku Declaration were adopted at the Plenary Session. It was also decided that the TURKPA Secretariat would be permanently located in Baku. 
  
TURKPA Chairmanship annually hands over from one country to another by means of rotation in the English alphabetical order. TURKPA is the first international Turkic institution of the 21st century, which holds a special position among the cooperation structures based on the principle of parliamentary diplomacy of Turkic states and has set a precedent for other international organizations in the Turkic world that followed it. 

So far, 12 plenary sessions of TURKPA have been held. The plenary sessions, which are the highest level of cooperation among member countries, address the Assembly's organizational and financial issues and discuss topics related to parliamentary diplomacy.

Currently, TURKPA has four permanent specialized commissions - Legal Affairs and International Relations Commission, the Commission on Education, Culture, Social and Humanitarian Affairs, the Economic Cooperation Commission and the Environment, Natural Resources and Health Protection Commission.

Additionally, two specialized groups operate within TURKPA: the Women Parliamentarians Group and the Young Parliamentarians Group.
               
TURKPA facilitates a favorable political dialogue forum for open discussion of common issues of the Turkic peoples and states through parliamentary diplomacy, using the opportunities provided by the commonality of history, language and culture. The establishment of TURKPA provides significant impetus for the comprehensive interaction of Turkic-speaking countries in the region, contributes to efforts in regional security and countering threats, as well as to strengthening trade and investment opportunities. Through this organization, Turkic-speaking countries not only preserve their national and moral identity but also represent themselves as a greater power in political and economic terms. Therefore, the strengthening of this union has become a demand of the time. The influence of the partnership of the union of Turkic states with common ancestry, history, national customs and traditions, which has seen strengthened cooperation in recent years, is increasingly felt in all directions in world politics. This cooperation, which contributes to the strengthening of solidarity among Turkic states, is an invincible force in countering Islamophobia. With the establishment of TURKPA, Muslims are able to resist provocative activities against the Islamic religion due to the unity of the Turkic people.          

The agreement reached at the first plenary session of TURKPA held in Baku, to establish an association of journalists accredited in the parliaments of member states has accelerated the organization of the Turkic Union. The purpose of TURKPA’s formation is to facilitate cooperation and experience exchange among the parliament representatives of member states and to ensure the dissemination of events occurring in brotherly countries all over the Turkic states. TURKPA has always been open to international organizations and other non-member countries. TURKPA has been granted observer status by the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Association of Secretaries-General of Parliaments (ASGP), the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (PABSEC) and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly.  All countries interested in cooperation can join this organization.

In addition to political relations, economic relations connecting Turkic-speaking countries were also established by TURKPA. It is noteworthy that economic relations between Turkic-speaking countries are developing every year. Trade relations are expanding, and mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of trade turnover and investment is being established. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line, as well as the TANAP gas pipeline, which can be joined by other Turkic-speaking countries, creates wider opportunities. The total economic power of the Turkic States is increasing year by year. It is a fact that countries rich in energy resources such as Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan play a significant role in the geo-economic policy of Europe. Turkey's possession of rich resources in the Black Sea turns prospects into reality and implements a unified energy diplomacy of Turkic states. The initiatives of Azerbaijan that are reshaping the energy and transportation map of the world, along with Turkey's possession of rich natural energy resources, further strengthen the role of these two brotherly countries in the world’s political and economic system. Moreover, maritime transportation between Aktau and Baku seaports is developing. With the creation of a new transport infrastructure, the Turkic world will also be connected through a transportation network. The Memorandum of Understanding on Turkic sister ports signed in 2013 between the international seaports of Baku, Aktau and Samsun defines the main directions of cooperation in the transportation sector for the creation of a more efficient regional transportation system that connects transportation corridors between Turkic-speaking countries and national transportation plans. 

Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkey also have space programs. In addition, Turkic-speaking countries are developing their domestic industries by introducing new technology and innovations into their economies. Hydrocarbon pipelines, road and railway networks are being constructed and undergoing substantial repairs.
  
The unity of the Turkic world emerges from its integrated political, cultural, and economic strategy, which keeps Turkic states in the spotlight and promotes their development at various levels. Azerbaijan, due to its historical and geographical location, is uniquely positioned to concentrate the most diverse and high-quality tendencies of Eastern and Western cultures. The foundational ideologies of the global Turkic movement originated and spread from here. In this sense, Azerbaijan is a globally significant geo-civilization where not only national culture, related regional cultures, common Turkic culture but also world cultures converge. Therefore, the activities of Azerbaijan within TURKPA are considered more important.

So, to sum up, TURKPA, which attaches special importance to strengthening the general inter-parliamentary dialogue, holds particular significance in promoting peace, democracy, and economic development in the world. Furthermore, TURKPA plays an important role in expanding cooperation with European and Asian international institutions and in the extensive development of highly relevant intercultural and interreligious dialogues worldwide. 
     

Recommended literature:

1. Feyziyev, Cavanşir Əyyub oğlu. Türk Dövlətləri Birliyi : qlobal inteqrasiyanın Avrasiya modeli / C. Ə. Feyziyev ; elmi red. F. Q. İsmayılov. - Bakı : Şərq-Qərb, 2013. - 312 s.
2. İsmayılov, İsrafil Zakir oğlu. Türk dünyası XX əsrdə / İ. Z. İsmayılov; red. Y. P. Əhmədov. - Bakı : Vətən nəşriyyatı, 2009. - 216 s.
3. Türk dünyasının birliyi ideyası və Heydər Əliyev : araşdırma / Azərbaycan Respublikasının Prezidenti yanında Qeyri-Hökumət Təşkilatlarına Dövlət Dəstəyi Şurası, Türk Dünyası İnfo İB ; layihənin rəh. D. O. Osmanlı, tərt.-red. Ə. M. Yolçuyev, elmi red. N. Q. Cəfərov, red. Ş. Əliyev. - Bakı : Elm və təhsil, 2011. - 168 s.
4. Cəfərov, Nizami Qulu oğlu. Türk dünyasının yeni lideri / N. Q. Cəfərov, O. Ə. Musayev, D. O. Osmanlı ; Azərbaycanda Atatürk Mərkəzi. - Bakı: Çaşıoğlu, 2009. - 760 s.