15.02.25
The meeting was attended by heads of commissions from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and TRNC, as well as members of parliament, ambassadors and representatives of many organizations from the Turkic world. The two-session program will discuss steps for cooperation as well as global and regional issues such as the Russian-Ukrainian war, recent events in Palestine and Syria.
“As the Turkic world, we will continue to take concrete steps to strengthen ties between our countries.” Delivering the opening speech, Fuat Oktay, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, said: “At such meaningful events bringing together members of our family assembly, first of all, we have the opportunity to once again analyze and evaluate the distance we have covered over the past 34 years. Today, when the centers of gravity of the world economy are changing and the importance of our geographical belonging is growing, we continue to take concrete steps to further strengthen ties between the countries of the Turkic world. Our cooperation mechanisms, which we, as the Turkic World, built with great efforts, are now institutionalized in all sectors and are acquiring a strong foundation.
In addition to the two existing cooperation processes and mechanisms, we are also developing and deepening our relations at the multilateral level under the auspices of the Turkic States through TURKPA, TURKSOY, the Turkic Investment Fund, the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, the Turkic Academy and the Union of Turkic Chambers of Commerce and Industry. These areas continue to expand and strengthen day by day.
Emphasizing the need to increase trade among the OTS members, Oktay said: “Today, the cooperation platforms established within the existing Turkic cooperation organizations have become closely monitored in the international arena and have risen to a prestigious position with which third countries want to cooperate. Under the leadership of our presidents, we attach great importance to the integration of the Turkic world and institutionalization of our cooperation by further strengthening the comprehensive interaction between our countries. I am confident that at the informal summit to be held in Hungary and at the 12th summit of the Organization of Turkic States to be held in Azerbaijan this year, we will take decisions to strengthen our multilateral cooperation. Our young and dynamic population of more than 175 million people, a trade volume of more than 1.3 trillion dollars and a rich common cultural heritage are solid foundations for the realization of our projects.
However, according to 2023 data, the volume of trade between the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States remained at 42 billion dollars. In other words, we were able to use only 42 billion dollars out of a potential of 1.3 trillion dollars. This corresponds to 3 percent of our total trade. We need to increase this ratio. In the context of energy and the Middle Corridor, we have a huge potential to expand cooperation in transportation. In the context of the Organization of Turkic States, we are working together to increase mutual investment, improve connectivity and strengthen our region's key positions on energy and transport corridors to support our common development.
