GAZIANTEP CONFERENCE: INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL APPROACHES TO THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

On April 28, 2026, the conference titled “Strategic Cooperation Conference on Turkic Cultural Heritage: Combating the Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property”, held in Gaziantep, continued its work with expanded sessions.

As part of the Technical Seminar on the second day, the main focus was on combating the illicit trafficking of cultural property through international and national cooperation models.

In the first session, Yasemin Name Genç, a representative of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye, spoke about the Ministry’s activities in this field. 

Representing the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, Project Manager Nuri Aksu and Elina Altınbekova, Coordinator of the Network of Turkic Restoration and Conservation Laboratories (“Ostrov Krym” Laboratory), presented ongoing projects aimed at preserving cultural heritage.

During the continuation of the session, Hungary’s experience was extensively presented by Virág Judit Kata (Ministry of Construction and Transport of Hungary), Péter Tóth (Customs Lieutenant, National Tax and Customs Administration), Bence Ábel Szöts (International Relations Department of the same administration), as well as András Papp, liaison officer of the Hungarian Police in Turkey.

The second session continued with presentations on national strategies.

The activities of the Republic of Azerbaijan in this field were presented by Police Colonel Huseyn Mansimli, Head of Department at the Ministry of Internal Affairs; Zubeyda Rustamli, Head of the Analytics and Intelligence Department of the State Customs Committee; and Ordukhan Gahramanzade, representative of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Culture.

The delegation of the Republic of Kazakhstan: Diana Zholmukhanova (Ministry of Culture and Information), Sholpan Abdreyeva (Chairperson of the Intellectual Property Rights Committee under the Ministry of Justice), expert Zarina Kuanyshbayeva, and Ayan Kolbay (Customs Control Committee of the Ministry of Finance) presented information on mechanisms for intellectual property protection and customs control in their country.

Representatives of Kyrgyzstan: Bekbolot Bektemirov (State Customs Service), Nurzat Ybykeeva and Nurlan Gaparov (Ministry of Culture, Information and Youth Policy) – shared their national experience.

In the afternoon, cooperation models in Türkiye were discussed. During the third session titled “Cooperation Models in Türkiye”, Emel Özcan, expert at the Ministry of Trade of Turkey, delivered a presentation on the role of customs in preventing the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage, while Mehmet Ali Korkut, Commissioner at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, spoke on the role of the Department for Combating Smuggling and Organized Crime (KOM). 

Representatives of law enforcement agencies: Mehmet Ali Korkut and Gendarmerie Colonel Murat Ekenel also addressed efforts to combat smuggling, while Engin Sağlam, judge rapporteur at the Ministry of Justice, explained the legal aspects of protecting cultural heritage.

In continuation of the session, Murat Ekenel presented on the role of the Gendarmerie, and Engin Sağlam on the role of the Ministry of Justice in combating the illicit trafficking of cultural property.

Following the presentations, a Q&A session was held, during which participants received clarifications on issues of interest and engaged in a broad exchange of views.

The day’s program concluded with an excursion to the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, one of the world’s leading centers of mosaic art.

It should be noted that this high-level event is jointly organized by the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye, the Turkish Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), and the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality.