Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Samarkand to host the First Summit of the Organization of Turkic States. OTS is a new phenomenon of global changes at the regional level, which has arisen under the influence of modern geo-economic realities in Eurasia.

According to experts, the member states of the Organization have significant potential: the human resource is about 170 million people; ranked 13th in the world in terms of GDP, which amounted to US$1.4 trillion in 2021. The trade turnover between the members of the Organization is US$21 billion. The annual growth of the industry in the states of the Organization averages 8-12%, and the share of industry in the structure of GDP is about 24%.

Uzbekistan has been participating in the work of the OTS as a full member since 2019. Joining the Organization was the result of the intensification of multilateral diplomacy of Tashkent, carried out over the past years.

Uzbekistan is the second Turkic-speaking state after Turkey in terms of population, which has enormous economic potential with a dynamically growing economy.

The OTS states account for 22.4% of the total trade turnover of Uzbekistan. Over the past 5 years, mutual trade with the states of this Organization has grown 2.4 times, amounting to US$9.4 billion in 2021.

The increased interest in the participation of Uzbekistan in the activities of the OTS is due, first of all, to the following points.

First, joining the Organization fits into the modern foreign policy strategy of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, within which a new model of relations with external partners and international structures is being created. Uzbekistan is a key player in the Turkic world due to objective factors and historical, cultural, civilizational, geographical, and geo-economic parameters.

Second, the Organization is an effective platform for addressing current issues of developing cooperation in trade, the economy, transport, energy, tourism, and the cultural and humanitarian sphere, coordinating efforts to ensure peace and security in the region, and consolidating efforts to counter the global challenges of our time.

Third, participation in the work of the OTS as a permanent member gives Tashkent additional political and diplomatic resources for the wide promotion of its initiatives on the world stage and also strengthens the international authority and status of the country as one of the centers of the Turkic-Islamic civilization.

Uzbekistan’s entry into the Organization is already demonstrating its high efficiency. In just three years, the Leader of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has put forward more than three dozen initiatives and proposals for further development and strengthening of cooperation with the member states of the Organization.

It is important to note the establishment of the Center for Research on Trade Cooperation of the Turkic States to develop proposals for increasing the volume of mutual trade, the adoption within the framework of the OTS of the Connectivity Program of the member states in the transport sector, the formation of a permanent platform of experts and IT specialists.

The vision of Uzbekistan in interaction with the Organization lies in the long-term and joint development of the economies of the states that are members of the Organization to ensure prosperity and sustainable development of the entire Turkic space.

Thanks to the ongoing positive trends, today we are witnessing the successful activities of the Organization, which is due to the combination of common interests of its members in the cultural and humanitarian sphere with the dynamic development of trade and economic ties, as well as the rapid adaptation of the OTS to the rapidly changing situation in the world.

The Samarkand Declaration will be adopted following the Summit. It will reflect the assessment of the activities of the OTS, the coordinated approach of the member states regarding the prospects for its development and the position of the members of the association regarding the current international and regional situation. The document will also outline the main decisions of the summit and initiatives proposed by Uzbekistan and other member countries of the Organization.

The chairmanship in the Organization for 2022-2023 will pass from Türkiye to Uzbekistan. In this regard, active preparations for work in this status have already begun in the country. Tashkent intends to actively promote the entire agenda for the development of the OTS and implement the agreements reached.

A landmark event at the meeting of the leaders of the countries of the Organization will also be the adoption of the OTS Strategy for 2022-2026, aimed at intensifying trade and economic ties, forming an interregional branched transport and communication system, strengthening cooperation in the energy sector, consolidating efforts in digitalization and high technologies, improving coordination of measures in ensuring food security, expansion of cooperation in education and science.

Uzbekistan will consistently work to maximize the use of the reserves of the Organization and fully contribute to increasing the potential and opportunities for the integration association of the countries of the Turkic world.

It can be said with confidence that the Samarkand Summit will give a new impetus to the development of the Organization of Turkic States and lay a solid foundation for cooperation between the member states. Further interaction within the OTS will be of great importance in terms of unlocking the huge potential of good neighborliness, unity and cooperation between states and their peoples, laying a successful model of interstate interaction and solidarity.

Bobur Usmanov,

Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the 

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan