Interstate cooperation between Uzbekistan and the Organization of Turkic States at a new stage

The Turkic Speaking States Summit Process was established as a forum after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 with the participation of countries, namely Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus and Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia.

The process began with the initiative of Turkey in 1992, and thereafter, “Summits of Turkic Speaking States” were held every year. During the 9th summit in Nakhichevan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan signed the Nakhichevan Agreement on the establishment of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States.

The main goal of the Turkic Council was to strengthen mutual trust and political solidarity in the Turkic world and accelerate the possibilities of economic and technical cooperation, ensure good neighborly relations with reliable structures and accumulate the historical and cultural heritage of the Turkic world to the maximum extent possible.

During 2011-2019, Summits were held in the member states of the Turkic Council, dedicated to such topics as “Economic and trade cooperation”, “Cooperation in the field of education, science and culture”, “Tourism”, “Youth and sports”, etc.

It should be noted that the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev оn September 14, 2019, he signed the law on the ratification of the Nakhichevan Agreement on the establishment of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States. In this sense, a significant event for the Turkic Council was not only 10th anniversary, but also the membership of Uzbekistan. In terms of GDP, Uzbekistan ranks fourth among the Turkic-speaking countries with an indicator of $ 50 billion and second in terms of population of 34 million people. This potential of Uzbekistan served as its active participation in many areas of the Council’s activities. For this reason, in the future, external interest in the Turkic Council will increase, and the implementation of many projects will accelerate.

In September 2021, the Forum of Young Entrepreneurs was held for the first time in Uzbekistan, initiated by the leader of Uzbekistan, in which more than 250 young entrepreneurs from Turkic countries took part.

Within the framework of the forum, the 5th meeting of the Ministers for Youth and Sports of the organization was also held. In honor of the announcement of Khiva as the “Cultural Capital of the Turkic World” within the framework of this forum, the International Cultural meeting of the Permanent Council of the Ministers of Culture of the TURKSOY Member States.

The holding of the historic Istanbul Summit for the “Turkic Family” in November 2021 will be remembered as a major turning point for the Organization, as relations between Member States entered a new era of closer and more comprehensive cooperation. During the summit, the presidents of the Turkic states decided to change the name of the Turkic Council to the “Organization of Turkic States” (OTS).

To date, about 15 countries have expressed a desire to establish different formats of cooperation with the OTS. This indicates a good reputation of the organization, and that its international image is steadily growing.

Positive trends in interstate relations in the OTS sub-region open up new prospects for further expansion of cooperation both within the OTS and in relations with international institutions and mechanisms such as the UN, OSCE, OIC, ECO. All participants adhere to coinciding or similar views and positions on contemporary issues related to the activities of the Turkic Council, the international and regional agenda.

This means that today there are no barriers to active cooperation in such priority areas as the economy, investment, innovation and high technology, alternative energy and ecology, transport and communications, tourism, science and education, and medicine.

An appropriate legal basis for a simplified migration order between countries is already in place. For example, citizens of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan can stay without a visa in Turkey for up to 90 days. Turkish citizens can also stay in Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan for up to 90 days, and in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan for 30 days.

In November 2022, the summit of the Organization of Turkic States will be held in the city of Samarkand, the main topic of which will be support for youth initiatives, including issues of expanding cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, green economy, digital technologies, transport and communications, as well as education and culture.