Turkic countries join forces to set up news station

Turkic speaking countries took the first step to establish an international news station that will cater to an audience of over 150 million people by signing a protocol in Kazakhstan.

Members of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking Countries convened in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Tuesday for a meeting of ministers in charge of media. Representatives from Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan signed a protocol to establish a news network to boost cooperation between countries in the Turkic speaking world.

Şenol Göka, director of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), Turkey's state-run broadcaster, said the idea of cooperating on media and a joint news network was suggested by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, adding that the station would be "a bridge of unity" for all countries involved. "Our common goal is to have the Turkic world act together and become a global player. Therefore, media agencies in the Turkic world should act together to that extent," he said.The Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking Countries, which was formed in 2009, aims to boost cooperation among Turkic speaking countries, which covers a large area in Asia mainly composed of former Soviet republics, looking to improve their standing in the international community as independent countries.

The meeting in Astana was the first time representatives of state-run media from Turkic speaking countries came together. Member countries discussed ways to boost cooperation in media and raising cultural and social awareness in member countries through this cooperation.

Quoted by Azerbaijan's Trend News Agency, Azerbaijani presidential adviser Ali Hasanov, who attended the meeting, said at the signing of the protocol that the joint television channel will deliver news to people in Turkic speaking countries "without being put through an ideological sieve of international news channels." Hasanov said leading media resources often ignore positive developments in Azerbaijan and other Turkic speaking countries, and Turkey, for instance, faced a dirty campaign by global media outlets. Hasanov said establishing an alternative source of information to ensure free access to global information and consolidate efforts to prevent smear campaigns was vital.

TRT already has TRT Avaz, a channel dedicated to the Turkic world, although it focuses on feature programming rather than news. Other Turkic speaking countries also have similar channels.