Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A special meeting of the Union of Universities of the Turkic World of the Organization of Turkic States (TURKUNIB) was held at the Silk Road International Tourism University in Samarkand.

The event was attended by responsible persons of the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change, rectors of higher educational institutions of Uzbekistan, representatives of international organizations, about 50 universities and experts from the member states of the Organization, in particular Kazakhstan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan.

Speaking at the meeting, the Minister of Ecology Aziz Abdukhakimov noted that the interaction between the Turkic states is becoming closer, and especially noted that the rectors of higher educational institutions are active in this direction.

At the event, the participants discussed the possibilities of expanding and strengthening cooperation between the universities of the Turkic world, exchanging experience and knowledge, developing joint educational and research programs. There was also an exchange of views between representatives of universities on strengthening the exchange of students, creating internship programs and improving teaching standards to ensure high quality education.

In addition, presentations on various topics were held at the meeting, current opportunities and problems of the Orkhun student exchange program were discussed.

For information, the Council of the Union of Turkic World Universities was established in 2013. Currently, the Union has more than 40 members from Kazakhstan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Hungary.