In September 1991, the Presidents Nazarbayev and Özal signed a declaration in Ankara containing the principles and objectives of bilateral relations. President Nursultan Nazarbayev defined during his visit to Turkey the 21st century as the “Turks’ century”. Turkey established diplomatic relations with Kazakhstan following the latter's independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On 2 March 1992, the diplomatic relations were established and in the same year, the embassies of both countries were opened in Kazakhstan and Turkey.