On November 18-19, the 1st Russian-Turkish forum “Public Diplomacy without Borders” was held in Istanbul.

The forum was organized by the Russian Society for Culture, Education, Mutual Aid and Solidarity (based in Istanbul).

The cooperation between Moscow and Ankara is aimed at strengthening contacts in the educational, cultural, scientific and sports areas, as well as intensifying exchange programmes for the youth. The participants also discussed the issues related to the mutual recognition of higher education diplomas.

The main purpose of the event was to establish contacts in the social and cultural sphere, including those between ethnic communities in order to exchange experience and to preserve their identity.

Despite the expansion of trade, economic and political cooperation between Russia and Turkey, there is still a lack of cooperation between the public organizations of these countries. The 1st Russian-Turkish forum was held in order to define the problems and issues that prevent the countries from developing bilateral relations and establishing contacts in the social and cultural sphere.

The forum was attended by Russian and Turkish public organizations, representatives of diplomatic departments and state authorities of the two countries.

The forum in Istanbul was divided into two parts - "Forms and mechanisms of cooperation of public organizations and national and cultural autonomies connected by a single ethnic identity" and "The role of public diplomacy in strengthening Russian-Turkish relations."