ISTANBUL

Turkiye’s Yunus Emre Institute opened a cultural center in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek during the 11th Summit of the Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS).

A statement said Wednesday that the ceremony for the opening of the center was attended by luminaries, including Turkish Culture Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and Abdurrahman Aliy, the head of the Yunus Emre Institute.

It said the center would promote Turkish culture and strengthen cultural ties between Türkiye and Kyrgyzstan.

The facility will be a “meeting point” where Turkish language, culture and art will be introduced and where wide-ranging events will be organized. The statement said Aliy conveyed that the institute has more than 90 offices in over 60 countries.

Ersoy drew attention to Türkiye’s investments in education in Kyrgyzstan and expressed that his agency believes Kyrgyzstan’s youth are the future of the Turkic world.

Founded in 2009, the OTS includes Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as full members, while Hungary, Turkmenistan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus are observers.

The OTS aims to promote trade, political, cultural and security cooperation among Turkic-speaking nations.