Gagauz ethnics from a number of states met together in Comrat for the fourth World Congress of Gagauz People on May 6. The event involved senior state officials and the Prime Minister of Turkey Binali Yildirim, who had been in Moldova on an official visit during May 5-6. The Congress, organized with the support of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, brought together illustrious Gagauz personalities, businesspeople and people of culture as well representatives of embassies working in Moldova, IPN reports.
The main topics for discussion at the Congress were the working out of a joint strategy for conserving and developing the Gagauz language and implementation of socioeconomic projects between Gagauz people from the country and the diaspora.
In the opening of the event, President Igor Dodon said the Gagauz people formed as a nation namely on the territory of Moldova. That’s why Moldova can be justly named the home of the Gagauz people. “The Gagauz people manifested themselves as real patriots, being the first who pronounced against the unionism ideology, which envisions the annihilation of the Moldovan state, Moldova identity and specific features and Moldova’s centuries-old history. Namely on the territory of Gagauzia, there was made the first reply to the Ministry of Education’s policy to study the history of a foreign state. The Gagauz people take an active part in all the areas of life and activity of our country,” he stated.
For his part, Prime Minister Pavel Filip mentioned the actions that were taken and are to be taken by the executive to modernize the region, enumerating the implementation of the program to study the Gagauz language, including in pre-school education institutions and working out of the framework strategy for developing the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia, for developing and reconstructing infrastructure. In 2017, the Government of Moldova will allocate 10.3 million lei for implementing relevant projects.
Turkish Premier Binali Yildirim said Turkey will assign teachers of Turkish to work in the region so that the linguistic barrier disappears here.
The Governor of Gagauzia Irina Vlah called on the Gagauz people of the diaspora to make investments to develop the region and create jobs.
