The members of the House of European Affairs and Diplomacy (HEAD) were briefed by Talaibek Kydyrov, the Acting Director of the Representation Office on the objectives and activities of the OTS. This was followed by the presentations of the five project directors who talked about the specifics of their own countries. On behalf of HEAD, founded in 2018, Dominik Horváth indicated that they were paying great attention to the EU Presidency of Hungary due to begin in the second half of 2024. Zsófia Major added that HEAD was making efforts to establish relations with the international organizations.
On December 6 – at the invitation of the Representation Office of the OTS in Budapest – the members of the House of European Affairs and Diplomacy (HEAD), an organization of university students interested in the European Union and diplomacy, paid a visit to the Ybl Villa. Talaibek Kydyrov briefed them on the objectives and activities of the OTS, drawing their attention to Turkic Vision 2040 and Strategy 2022–2026 to implement it. The acting Director of the Representation Office outlined the internal structure and the decision making mechanism of the first international organization in the region, as well the major fields of the cooperation of the member states. He put special emphasis on establishing contact with the Turkic diaspora, numbering around 20 million.
Project Director Géza Gonda explained the history, the internal structure, as well as the everyday work of the Representation Office to the young students. He highlighted that his colleagues are devoting special attention to increasing the visibility of the OTS, as well as to building its institutional ties.
After the two introductory remarks, the project directors from the five Turkic states briefed the audience on the specifics of their own countries. They spoke about the role that Azerbaijan plays in energy security, the multi-vector foreign policy of Kazakhstan, the huge water base of Kyrgyzstan which is significant for the region, as well as the efforts of Türkiye to become an energy hub. The presentation of the member states was brought to a close by the screening of a film on the beauties of Uzbekistan and its ancient culture.
On behalf of the audience Dominik Horváth (HEAD, ELTE University, co-chair) pointed out that their youth organization – founded in 2018 – has a membership of 500, and is present at five universities. They regularly invite active and retired politicians, experts on the EU to their interactive meetings. They also pay visits to embassies in Budapest. The HEAD Conference will focus its attention on the Hungarian EU Presidency due in the second half of 2024. Zsófia Major (HEAD Corvinus University, Foreign Office, vice president) added that HEAD was making efforts to establish ties with international organizations. For this reason, they considered it a unique opportunity to be able to get acquainted with the activities of the OTS and its Representation Office in Budapest, for which they also expressed their special thanks.
