The meeting of the Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States was held on November 11 in Samarkand under the chairmanship of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The theme of the meeting is "New era for the Turkic civilization: Towards common development and prosperity," the Press Service of the President of Uzbekistan said in its statement.
The meeting was attended by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty chamber of Turkmen bicameral parliament Milli Gengesh Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban.
The heads of the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY), the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TURKPA), the International Turkic Academy, the Foundation for Turkic Culture and Heritage, the Secretariat of this multilateral structure also participated in the event.
The meeting participants emphasized the expediency of strengthening the foundations of trade and economic cooperation.
The Head of Uzbekistan proposed to organize the International Turkic Economic Forum annually, including holding joint events within the framework of the forum in the “state and business” format, meetings of entrepreneurs and round tables, presentations of innovative projects and exhibitions.
The meeting also discussed other topical issue on the agenda of strategic importance — the strengthening of interconnectedness in the transport sector.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev also stated that the OTS countries should contribute to the establishment of peace and the economic recovery of Afghanistan.
The sides also stated the need to create separate committees at the ministerial level in priority areas — politics and security, trade and investment, transport, agriculture, energy, information technology, tourism, innovation and education, medicine, and youth policy.
The meeting resulted in the Samarkand Declaration of the Summit of the Organization of Turkic States, aimed at further expanding multifaceted cooperation within the organization.
The OTS, formerly known as the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council), was established on October 3, 2009. The members of the OTS are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan. Hungary and Turkmenistan have observer status.
