Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in the 13th summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Ankara on 30 October, held under the theme “Turkic Century: Unity in Language, Thought and Action”.
The summit was attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and OTS Secretary General Kubanychbek Omuraliev.
Addressing the summit, Mirziyoyev called for strengthening the organisation as a platform for mutual trust and practical partnership amid changes in international relations, intensifying geopolitical competition and ongoing armed conflicts.
He presented a series of initiatives to expand economic, transport, legal and humanitarian cooperation among member states.
In particular, Mirziyoyev proposed developing cooperation with third countries under the “OTS Plus” format, including meetings of sectoral ministers. He said these contacts should focus on preparing concrete joint projects in trade, transport, investment and other priority areas.
One of the key proposals was the “Turkic World – 100” programme, which envisages implementing 100 joint investment and industrial projects.
Priority areas would include processing rare and strategic minerals, localising the production of green energy equipment and manufacturing higher value-added products. The proposed financing sources include the Turkic Investment Fund and international financial institutions.
To protect business interests, Mirziyoyev proposed drafting a multilateral agreement on mutual legal assistance in commercial matters.
The agreement would establish a legal framework for the mutual recognition and enforcement of court decisions. He also proposed creating a digital platform for exchanging requests for legal assistance and relevant documents.
The president also highlighted the importance of transport infrastructure development. He proposed establishing a Network of Logistics Centres of Turkic States under joint management to integrate the Middle Corridor and related transport routes into a unified economic system.
In tourism, Mirziyoyev proposed creating a Turkic Tourism Alliance to jointly promote the member states’ historic cities, natural attractions and cultural heritage.
He also called for preparing a multilateral agreement to simplify travel between member states, including wider use of ID cards for crossing borders.
As part of educational cooperation, Uzbekistan expressed readiness to provide 200 annual scholarships to representatives of Turkic states under the Yangi Uzbekistan scholarship programme.
Mirziyoyev also supported declaring 2027 the Year of Environmental Protection within the OTS framework. In addition, he proposed compiling a Dictionary of Common Turkic Words featuring vocabulary understood by speakers of all Turkic peoples.
During the summit, the Uzbek president thanked member states for supporting the candidacy of Uzbekistan’s Mirvohid Azimov for the post of OTS secretary general. He also announced Uzbekistan’s readiness to host the organisation’s next summit in 2027.
The summit concluded with the adoption of the Ankara Declaration and a number of documents aimed at further developing cooperation among OTS member states.
