President of International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation Gunay Afandiyeva has discussed the prospers of cooperation with Lithuania and Kyrgyzstan. 

Gunay Afandiyeva met with Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis at the Foundation.

The sides discussed the prospects of cooperation as well as further plans to expand ties on the basis of the Memorandum of Cooperation signed in February this year between the Foundation and the Embassy of Lithuania in Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.

Head of the Foundation Gunay Afandiyeva stressed that the visit is taking place at a significant time - in the aftermath of Azerbaijan's historic victory.

Referring to the declaration of 2021 the Year of History and Culture of the Lithuanian Tatars, she noted that this is a manifestation of Lithuania's respect for the minorities living on its territory.

President of International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation emphasised  that the national minorities of Turkic origin living in Lithuania - Tatars and Karaites - are an integral part of the Turkic world.

Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis expressed great satisfaction with the visit to the Foundation and highly appreciated the cooperation between the organization and Lithuania.

He stressed the importance of his visit to the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation.

The Minister pointed out that Lithuania pays special attention to the protection and study of the historical and cultural heritage of the small Turkic peoples living in the country.

Speaking about further joint projects to strengthen the partnership between the organization and Lithuania, the Minister invited the Foundation's President Gunay Afandiyeva to Lithuania.

Furthermore, Charge d'affaires of the Kyrgyzstan  Mukhamed Lou has visited the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation to present a number of books reflecting the literature and art of the Kyrgyz people to the organization's library.

Among the donated books are "Manas", "Semetey" and other heroic epics of the Turkic world, as well as literary samples of history and culture written by outstanding poets and writers of Kyrgyzstan.

Gunay Afandiyeva expressed her graditude to  Mukhamed Lou for the books given to the Foundation. She emphasised that books, which are cultural, spiritual and historical values of Kyrgyzstan are of particular importance for the organization.

Mukhamed Lou highly appreciated the work done by the Foundation to study, preserve and popularize the rich material and cultural heritage of the Turkic-speaking peoples. He stressed that Kyrgyzstan will continue to provide all possible support to the organization.

The International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation was established at Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's initiative and with the support of the Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Turkish leaders.

The headquarters of the organization is located in Baku, Azerbaijan. The president of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation is Gunay Afandiyeva. 

The opening ceremony of the foundation's building was held within the framework of the 7th Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States in October 2019 with the participation of foreign ministers of the member and observer countries of the foundation, as well as heads of international Turkic cooperation organizations.

The foundation focuses on the preservation of Turkic heritage in member countries as well as conducting projects in collaboration with partners in third countries.

The organization provides assistance in the protection, study and promotion of Turkic culture and heritage through supporting and funding various activities, projects and programs. It carries out its activities in cooperation with TURKSOY and the Turkic Academy.

In 2019, at the 7th Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States (Turkic Council), Uzbekistan became a member of the organization, and Hungary received the status of an observer country.

In February 2021, a memorandum of cooperation was signed between the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation and the Lithuanian embassy in Azerbaijan.