European City Award to Izmit Parliamentarians Assembly of the Council of Europe presented the Honor Flag Award this year to Izmit which was largely destroyed by the Marmara Earthquake. The decision which meant Izmit was declared as an European city was conveyed to Izmit Mayor Sefa Sirmen. Chairman of Award Committee Franciszek Adamcyzk sent a letter to Sirmen stating the award aimed to improve solidarity among the European cities. Leaders Emphasize Vital Nature of Baku-Ceyhan Pipeline Project Emphasizing that the wealth and potential of Eurasia should be used in an effective manner to contribute to the economic and social development of the region, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer underlined that Turkey, as well as the Turkic Republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus, continued to attach great importance to an oil pipeline project that would carry Azeri and Kazakh oil to Western markets through Turkey. Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as Georgia, the transit country, have already concluded agreements and started engineering work on the project.
Efforts are underway to convince Kazakhstan to take part in the project.
The summit meeting, the seventh of its kind since 1992, was meant to explore ways of enhancing regional cooperation. The final declaration of the summit was signed by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Azerbaijan President Haydar Aliyev, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev, Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov and Uzbekistan Parliament Speaker Erkin Halilov, attending the summit on behalf of Uzbek President Islam Kerimov.