10th Annual Meeting of FUEN TAG was held in Ankara, Türkiye

Representatives of Turkic minorities and communities living in a vast geographical area from the Balkans to the Caucasus met in Ankara

The 10^th Annual Meeting of the FUEN Working Group of Turkic Minorities/Communities (TAG) was held in Ankara, the capital of Türkiye, on 30 October – 2 November 2024.

The meeting brought together representatives of eight Turkic minorities and communities from nine different countries of Europe. The meeting was attended by the Turkish community in Western Thrace, Rhodes and Kosovo Turks, Meskhetian Turks, Crimean Tatars, Kosovo Turks, Ukrainian Gagauz, North Macedonian Turks, Moldovan Gagauz and Bulgarian Turks.

FUEN TAG delegation was received by the Vice-President of the Republic of Türkiye and the officials responsible for the Turkish language and cultural world

Within the framework of the programme, the delegation headed by FUEN TAG Spokesperson Halit Habip Oğlu visited the official authorities of the Republic of Türkiye on 31 October.

The FUEN TAG delegation first visited the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) and was received by YTB Vice-President Abdulhadi Turus. Later, FUEN TAG delegation visited the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TÜRKSOY) and was received by TÜRKSOY Secretary-General Sultan Raev and Deputy Secretary-General Sayit Yusuf. FUEN TAG delegation visited Yunus Emre Institute (YEE) and was received by YEE Vice-President Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cahid Şenel and Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and was received by TIKA President Serkan Kayalar.

During the visits where the FUEN TAG delegation was informed about the activities, studies and programmes of YTB, TÜRKSOY, YEE and TIKA, FUEN TAG Spokesperson Habip Oğlu delivered information about FUEN and TAG, and ideas were exchanged on the activities that can be carried out as stakeholders.

FUEN TAG’s activities and road map for 2025 were determined

On 1 November, the FUEN TAG round table meeting began with the opening and welcoming speeches of FUEN TAG Spokesperson Halit Habip Oğlu and FUEN Vice-President Nabi Ibrahimcik. Habip Oğlu revealed information about the activities of TAG and Ibrahimcik about the activities of FUEN in the last year.

Afterwards, representatives of Western Thrace Turks, Rhodes and Kosovo Turks, Meskhetian Turks, Crimean Tatars, Kosovo Turks, Ukrainian Gagauzians, North Macedonian Turks, Moldovan Gagauzians and Bulgarian Turks presented the important developments in the Turkic minorities and communities they belong to, their current issues and the activities of the organisations they represent.

The meeting, where the activities of FUEN TAG for 2025 were discussed, ended with the determination of a common roadmap for 2025 with the contributions of the participating organisations.

Following the meeting, FUEN TAG delegation was received by the Vice-President of the Republic of Türkiye Cevdet Yılmaz at the Presidential Complex. FUEN TAG Spokesperson Habip Oğlu indicated that they held their tenth annual meeting in Ankara after their first annual meeting in 2014 and briefed about FUEN and TAG and their activities. During the meeting, the members of the delegation had the opportunity to convey the activities of the organisations they represent.