Uzbekistan: Aiming for progress and prosperity of the Turkic world

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev will take part in a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Organisation of Turkic States in Astana on 3 November.

The Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (CCTS) was established on 3 October 2009 in Nakhchivan (Azerbaijan) at the IX Summit of the Heads of Turkic Speaking States. During the VIII summit in Istanbul (Turkey) on 12 November 2021, it was decided to rename this structure into the "Organisation of Turkic States" (OTS).

The members of the Organisation are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan. Hungary and Turkmenistan have the status of observer states in the OTS.

The Council of Heads of State (CHS) is the supreme body of the OTS and carries out its activities in the form of regular meetings of the Heads of State of the organization’s member states. The CHS considers the issues of cooperation in solving topical international problems, determines priority areas of cooperation, and reviews the activities of the organization. The CHS meetings are held once a year.

In 2022-2023 the chairmanship in the organization belonged to Uzbekistan. The year of chairmanship was opened by the OTS summit in Samarkand, which was held on 11 November 2022. According to experts and members of the OTS, the outcome of the historic summit opened a new chapter in the development of the organization: important agreements were signed, including on simplifying trade and customs procedures, as well as on establishing an Investment Fund.

Speaking at the summit, the head of our state stressed that during his presidency Uzbekistan intends to effectively implement the "Vision of the Turkic World - 2040" concept and the five-year Strategy of the Organisation of Turkic States, which is being adopted today, to strengthen the authority of the Organisation, which covers a vast region with a population of over 170 million people, and most importantly, to bring to an even higher level the cooperation between our brotherly countries and peoples with a common history, language and culture.

On the basis of an in-depth analysis of the organization's activities, the leader of Uzbekistan has put forward a number of initiatives aimed at harnessing the enormous potential and capacities of the Turkic countries.

During Uzbekistan's chairmanship of the Organisation, more than 30 major events were held, including meetings of the heads of ministries and departments of economy, trade, health, education, space, energy and special services of our countries. At these meetings, special attention was paid to the issues of institutional reform of the OTSs, creation of a "space of new economic opportunities', strengthening transport interconnectivity and enhancing cooperation in the field of food security.

For the first time, the Alisher Navoi Prize, established to honor outstanding personalities for their contribution to the development of the Turkic world in the fields of science, culture and art, has been awarded.

Over the past year, Uzbekistan has become a full member of the International Turkic Culture Organisation. At the same time, the thirtieth anniversary of the establishment of  TURKSOY was solemnly celebrated.

Uzbekistan was initially one of the active participants and initiators of establishing and increasing interaction between Turkic-speaking states, including Turkey. However, since 2000, the republic has limited and later suspended its participation in the summits of Turkic-speaking countries.

A turning point in the history of interaction with the OTS was the participation of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in the VI Summit of the OTS on 3 September 2018 in the city of Cholpon-Ata (Kyrgyzstan) as a guest of honour. This was the first-ever presence of the head of Uzbekistan at the summit.

At that time, specific initiatives on ties with the OTS were put forward, including proposals to declare Khiva the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World (2020) and to hold one of the meetings of the OTS Business Council in Tashkent with the organization of a relevant business forum (2019).

On 14 September 2019, Uzbekistan ratified the Nakhchivan Agreement (3 October, 2009) and sent an official notification to the Republic of Turkey, the depositary of the document.

With Uzbekistan's accession, there has been a noticeable increase in the activity of other Turkic Council member states as well, indicating the growing role of the OTS as a regional organization.

At the OTS summits held in 2019-2023, the President of Uzbekistan put forward 52 specific initiatives aimed at further developing multifaceted cooperation within the OTS. To date, 35 initiatives have been implemented and 7 are at the final stage. Of the initiatives under implementation, 10 were announced during the Samarkand and Ankara summits.

The implemented initiatives include the establishment of the Forum of Young Entrepreneurs and holding its first meeting in Uzbekistan in September 2021, implementation of projects on digitalisation of transport and customs procedures, holding the 6th Meeting of the Ministers of Tourism of the OTS Member States in June 2021, declaring Kokand as the "Tourism Capital of the Turkic World" in 2022, holding the 1st Meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture of the Member States and the first Turkic Agro-Forum in Tashkent in July 2022, holding the IV Forum of Young Entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan in July 2022, and holding the 4th Forum of Young Entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan. Also on 16 March 2023, during the Extraordinary Summit of the OTS in Ankara, the Agreement on the Establishment of the Turkic Investment Fund was signed and the Member States are currently implementing the domestic procedures necessary for the Agreement to enter into force.

At the Samarkand OTS Summit, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said: "The Turkic world has a great history worthy of admiration, great ancestors and incomparable wealth. And I am convinced that a great future awaits the Turkic world. We will surely build this future together with our hard-working, generous and noble peoples". This strategic vision vividly confirms Uzbekistan's commitment to further strengthening and expanding cooperation within the framework of the OTS.

In this context, the forthcoming summit of the Organisation of Turkic States in Astana will be another joint step towards achieving common goals, and the initiatives put forward at the summit will fill the multifaceted mutually beneficial cooperation with new content for the benefit of further progress and prosperity of the Turkic world.