ANKARA: Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev will participate in the extraordinary Organization of Turkic States (OTS) (formerly the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States – CCTS) summit in Ankara.
Uzbekistan became a full member of the organization in October 2019; the development of interaction with the Turkic countries is one of the priorities of the foreign policy of the country. Uzbekistan chairs this organization in 2023. The beginning of the Uzbekistan chairmanship was marked by the OTS summit in Samarkand, held under the slogan “New era of Turkic civilization: on the way to common prosperity and development” in November last year.
In a short period, the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, put forward over 40 initiatives and proposals for the further development and strengthening of interaction with the organization’s member states, and most of them have been effectively implemented. Thus, at the initiative of Uzbekistan to strength the solidarity of peoples based on a shared history, culture, language, and traditions, 2023 was declared the “Year of the Turkic civilization’s heyday.”
The OTS summit held in November 2022 in Samarkand became one of the historical turning points in transforming this association and, for the first time, brought together the heads of state of this association in a qualitatively new format — within the framework of a full-fledged Organization of Turkic States.
Deeper integration of the Turkic states
The summit launched the process of deeper integration of the Turkic states and also became the beginning of the chairmanship of Uzbekistan in the organization. As a result, a Joint Declaration was approved, and several multilateral documents were signed in the organization’s economy, transport, and institutionalization.
Under Uzbekistan’s chairmanship in the OTS in 2023, the effective implementation of the concept “Vision of the Turkic World—2040” and the five-year Strategy of OTS for 2022–2026 adopted at the summit in Samarkand continues. In particular, more attention was paid to solving the following tasks:
– strengthening the economic and trade basis of the organization, the transition to concrete actions for the effective use of the vast transport potential of the OTS;
– stimulating the development of the tourism industry, digital transformation, and ICT by launching specific projects;
– strengthening humanitarian and cultural rapprochement, in particular, through the use of public diplomacy;
– strengthening cooperation in the area of youth support;
– increasing the efficiency of OTS by improving its institutional framework.
In general, during our country’s chairmanship in the OTS, more than 30 events are planned. At the same time, it is essential to note that among the member states of the organization, Uzbekistan, for the first time, introduced the practice of developing a separate Concept and Action Plan.
Cumhurbaşkanı Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Türk Devletleri Teşkilatı Olağanüstü Zirvesi'ne katılmak üzere Türkiye'ye gelen Özbekistan Cumhurbaşkanı Şevket Mirziyoyev'i resmi törenle karşıladı https://t.co/zDHMyDHHDS
— AA Canlı (@AACanli) March 15, 2023
