The Organization of Turkic States: From Cultural Unity to Geostrategic Power

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Twelfth Summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) was held on October 7, 2025, in Gabala, Azerbaijan, under the theme “Regional Peace and Security,” hosted by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.

Attending the summit were Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Sadyr Japarov, President of the Kyrgyz Republic; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Turkey; Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan; Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary; Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council) of Turkmenistan and National Leader; and Ersin Tatar, President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. In this framework, Turkmenistan, Hungary, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus participated in the summit as observer members.

Among the prominent topics at the summit was the support by the Turkic states for the historic Joint Declaration signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia on August 8, 2025, in Washington D.C. The member states of OTS regarded this declaration as an important step toward lasting peace, stability, and prosperity in the South Caucasus and beyond. At the same time, the summit emphasized the necessity of a common will among all Turkic states to establish conflict-free peace in the South Caucasus.

In his address, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev underscored that another significant outcome of the Washington Summit was the opening of the Zangezur Corridor. He asserted that this corridor holds great importance as a new transportation route and as a secondary route within both the Middle Corridor and the North–South Corridor. On the other hand, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in his speech before the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, stated that although President Aliyev used the term “Zangezur Corridor” after accepting the Washington Declaration, the term does not appear in the documents and was never used in negotiations, thereby rejecting the concept.

Nevertheless, at the Twelfth OTS Summit, Aliyev once again employed the term “Zangezur Corridor” determinedly, reiterating that the progress of the corridor would proceed under that framework. This suggests that there are conceptual obstacles in carrying the peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia to the stage of formal signature. However, the meeting in New York on September 22, 2025, between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, in which both sides expressed consensus to maintain dialogue based on the outcomes of the Washington Peace Summit, is seen as a pivotal threshold in demonstrating reciprocal determination for the peace process.

Another development that marked the summit was President Erdoğan’s emphasis on steps taken toward a common alphabet for the Turkic world. In his speech he stated: “In order to catch up with global developments in artificial intelligence and to preserve our cultural richness, we must accelerate the development of a Turkish Large Language Model. Regarding the common alphabet, Turkey is taking the first step; we are printing a work about Chingiz Aytmatov and the Oghuznamas in a common alphabet. Today we present one copy to each leader.” In this way, he stressed the determination for the transition to a common alphabet among the Turkic states.

While a common alphabet strengthens linguistic unity and cultural solidarity in the Turkic world, it will also facilitate cooperation in science, economics, and artificial intelligence technologies, creating a solid foundation in both civilizational and digital integration. This development was among the summit’s prominent highlights as a major step in the future vision of the Organization of Turkic States.

Another noteworthy moment came in the speech of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. He characterized the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) as a structure of strong and united states capable of confronting the serious challenges the international community faces, and stressed that many countries have shown growing interest in OTS and its activities. Additionally, he expressed support for the establishment of a “OTS+” format, noting that this initiative would undoubtedly strengthen the international prestige of OTS.

Emphasizing the growing strategic importance of OTS, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev He pointed out that, owing to the deep military cooperation established between Azerbaijan and Turkey, over 25 joint exercises were conducted within a single year, which he described as a concrete indicator of solidarity in the Turkic world. In this vein, Aliyev invited OTS member states to hold a joint military exercise in Azerbaijan in 2026, stressing that this initiative would represent a new step in strategic integration in the defense and security field for the Turkic world. This invitation carries strategic significance for the regional security architecture as well.

Indeed, considering that after the dissolution of the Soviet Union the states (excluding Russia) that gained independence were weak in military capacity and deficient in technological infrastructure, the training, experience transfer, and strategic support that Turkey provided to the Azerbaijani armed forces decisively influenced the course of the Second Karabakh War. In this context, Azerbaijan has achieved important gains not only on the battlefield but also in its capacity to develop military strategy, thanks to its long-term military cooperation with Turkey based on fraternal ties.

Turkey similarly continues to develop cooperation mechanisms and provide strategic support in the military field with other Turkic states. However, institutional capacity deficits in some member states draw attention in terms of effective management of these supports. Nevertheless, joint military exercises carry a strategic function in areas such as coordinated mobility among armies, technological and doctrinal sharing, and standardization of military discipline, and hold potential to transform OTS’s security architecture into a more integrated and deterrent structure. This, especially for securing regional trade corridors like the Middle Corridor, ensuring uninterrupted and disciplined logistics flow, hence forming a safe commercial route oriented around the Turkic world, will offer significant contributions.

In this framework, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan made a striking proposal: “I think we should regularize joint meetings of the foreign ministers and heads of intelligence of the Organization of Turkic States to deeply analyze the global situation and take necessary decisions. We propose that the first joint meeting be held next year in Samarkand.” This statement is strategically important not only because it indicates that OTS is entering a process of institutionalization toward a coordinated security mechanism at the levels of intelligence and diplomacy, but also because, in his speech, Mirziyoyev called for deepening economic integration and accelerating industrial cooperation within OTS by preparing a development strategy and roadmap extending to 2030. In the continuation of his remarks, he emphasized the importance of creating a common economic area through concrete projects in transportation, investment, and agriculture. He also stated that innovative sectors such as artificial intelligence and the digital economy would be the main locomotives in the sustainable development of the Turkic world.

Looking at the declaration of the Twelfth Summit of the Organization of Turkic States, the target of strengthening cooperation in the areas of artificial intelligence, green energy, digital transformation, financial integration, and logistics infrastructure stands out. In terms of economic development, initiatives such as the Turkic Investment Fund and the OTS Investment Portal are emphasized for common market integration. Particular importance is given to the digital integration of the East–West Middle Corridor passing through the Caspian, and common commitments are reaffirmed for enhancing regional connectivity and transportation infrastructure. Member states emphasize the importance of modernized logistics systems to increase efficiency, resilience, and global competitiveness. In this regard, the strategic significance of the Zangezur Corridor is highlighted, and efforts by member states to make the corridor functional and develop it are supported; commitments are also reaffirmed to utilize the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway to its maximum potential. Moreover, the importance of the Trans-Caspian International East–West Middle Corridor and the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway in strengthening inter-regional connectivity and diversifying trade routes between Europe and Asia is also emphasized. Within this framework, these topics stand out among the concrete outputs of the Twelfth Summit of the Organization of Turkic States.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Gabala Summit of the Organization of Turkic States constitutes a strategic turning point, where concrete and actionable proposals spanning from security to economy were expressed directly at the level of heads of state. The summit has presented not only new vision in institutional capacity strengthening in areas such as regional peace and security, economic integration, transportation connectivity, digital transformation, and defense cooperation, but also more.

The Organization of Turkic States has become one of the rare regional platforms that facilitate resolution of structural issues inherited from the Soviet period—such as borders, water, and transportation—on the basis of fraternal law and mutual dialogue rather than a culture of conflict. In this sense, OTS contributes to the reinforcement of mutual trust among member states while supporting the permanent establishment of regional stability.

From an economic perspective, the cooperation framework of the Organization has significantly increased intra-Turkic trade relations, which had previously remained at limited levels, and begun to replace economic dependence centered on Russia with economic solidarity within the Turkic world. This development has laid the foundation for both increased regional trade volume and strengthening of common investment and production mechanisms.

On the other hand, OTS’s constructive relations with other regional and international organizations have accelerated the integration of the economies of Central Asia (Turkistan) into European and global markets. Thus the organization has elevated itself from being a closed regional entity to becoming an actor that understands the dynamics of the global economic system and produces solutions and cooperation.

In the coming period, with the implementation of the “Organization of Turkic States Plus (OTS+)” format supported by the Heads of State of the Turkic States, the Organization’s international visibility and strategic capacity are expected to increase even further. As stressed by all the leaders at the summit, OTS is now emerging not only as a model of cooperation for the Turkic world but also for peace, development, and mutual prosperity throughout Eurasia. Alongside all this, the participation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus at the heads-of-state summit as an observer member of OTS carries strategic significance as a move that contributes to regional decision-making processes. This situation strengthens the position of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the Mediterranean and deepens its integration with the Turkic world. Also, its active role under the umbrella of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) is important both for regional peace and security and for economic and cultural cooperation.

Ahmet Sağlam

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of UzDaily.