Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The 3rd Meeting of the Ministers of Internal Affairs of the Organization of Turkic States was held on September 10, 2026, in Astana, the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This meeting took its place as an important meeting ahead of the 13th Summit of the Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States, which will be held on October 29–30, 2026, in Ankara, the capital of the Republic of Türkiye. This is because both the proposals put forward at the meeting and the joint declaration of the Ministers of Internal Affairs of the Organization of Turkic States at the conclusion of the meeting have strategic importance in terms of the formation of a union between the Turkic States that could be similar to, or even go beyond, the European Union in terms of cooperation in security, law enforcement, border management, and the passport-free movement of citizens of the Turkic States that are members of the organization among member states. The Ministers of Internal Affairs of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as well as the Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States, attended the meeting.
Türkiye’s Turkpol Proposal, Similar to Interpol, Represents a New Stage in the Security Integration of the Organization of Turkic States
One of the important strategic proposals of the meeting came from the Minister of Interior of the Republic of Türkiye, Mustafa Çiftçi, who proposed the establishment of Turkpol as the next step following the “Council for Combating Crime.” Minister Çiftçi emphasized that the Kazakh, Azerbaijani, Kyrgyz and Uzbek sides also responded quite positively to the proposal.
If Turkpol, proposed by Türkiye, is established, the Turkic States will be able to share data with each other more rapidly in terms of combating cross-border organized crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism, cybercrime, and tracking wanted persons. In this context, the establishment of Turkpol will require a comprehensive founding agreement concerning data sharing, personal data protection, judicial processes, jurisdictional boundaries, and the legal basis for joint operations among the member countries. Indeed, the member states, particularly Uzbekistan, adopted an approach supporting the preparation of a draft agreement on the establishment of the Council for Combating Crime and its submission for signature at the next meeting. This is an important development, and issues such as data protection, judicial processes and jurisdictional boundaries will also be clarified through this process. In addition, Türkiye’s proposal will provide an appropriate basis for Turkpol as well.
Common Passport Control Points: From a Security Project to Economic Integration
The second noteworthy issue of the meeting was undoubtedly the continuation of efforts to enable citizens of the Organization of Turkic States to pass through common passport control points at airports. The Minister of Interior of the Republic of Türkiye, Mustafa Çiftçi, stated that efforts were underway to establish common control points for citizens of the Turkic States, similar to the practice in the European Union. In the same statement, the possibility of expanding the practice of traveling with identity cards, which is currently implemented between some Turkic States, to a wider area among other Turkic states was also brought to the agenda.
This development should not be regarded merely as a facilitation of border crossings. Common passport control and travel with identity cards constitute a structural step that could accelerate the economic integration of the Organization of Turkic States. Facilitating the movement of people will facilitate trade by accelerating tourism, education, commerce, investment, business travel and the services sector.
Indeed, the existing model of travel with identity cards between Türkiye and Azerbaijan provides both important institutional experience and a significant example for its implementation in other Turkic States.
From a strategic perspective, it can be seen that these two projects complement each other. While Türkiye’s Turkpol proposal will enhance security, a common border-crossing mechanism similar to that of the European Union through the use of identity cards will safely increase tourism and trade mobility among the Turkic States. In this context, the development of security and freedom of movement together could enable the OTS, over time, to transform from merely a platform for political cooperation into a more integrated regional structure.
From an economic perspective, its impact on the Middle Corridor in particular will be significant and substantial. Facilitating the movement of people and goods along the Türkiye–Caucasus–Caspian–Turkistan (Central Asia) route could contribute to deepening commercial relations among the Turkic States. Easier travel will make it easier for companies to conduct market research in other Turkic States, establish business connections and make investments. In addition, this will create a secure route for the New Silk Road extending from China to Europe. Trust will bring investment and employment with it, thereby increasing interest in the Turkistan (Central Asia) region.
To make a general assessment of the 3rd Meeting of the Ministers of Internal Affairs of the Organization of Turkic States;
The importance of this meeting lies in demonstrating the Organization of Turkic States’ pursuit of a transition toward an “institutional mechanism” in the field of security. Türkiye’s Turkpol proposal, Kazakhstan’s approach to operational information sharing and migration security, and Uzbekistan’s emphasis on preparing the legal framework for the Council for Combating Crime all point in the same direction.
If a brief comment is to be made on the strategic outcome of the Astana meeting beyond evaluating it in terms of the individual decisions taken; it can be seen that the process of building common capacity in the field of security has begun to accelerate and become institutionalized.
In this context, if Türkiye’s Turkpol proposal is implemented and the practice of traveling with identity cards is applied among all Turkic states, economic integration among the Turkic States will increase, accelerating the movement of tourism, investment and trade.
