Elvira Kadyrova
On 11 November 2022, the ninth summit of the Organization of Turkic States took place in Samarkand, the capital of the Turkic civilization.
The summit was attended by:
- President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan
- President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan
- President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan
- President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan
- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Türkiye
- Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán
- Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty of the Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov
- Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States Baghdad Amreyev.
During the historic Summit, which was dedicated to the theme of “New Era for Turkic Civilization: Towards Common Development and Prosperity”, the leaders underlined the strong commitment of Member and Observer States to Turkic integration and the Turkic World Vision 2040.
The main topics on the agenda were issues of strengthening transport connectivity and economic cooperation in the OTS space, which is reflected in the final documents of the summit.
In addition to the agenda items, the leaders also discussed the recent regional and international developments and, took decisions on a number of important issues concerning the future of the Organization.
One of the most important decisions of the Summit was the establishment of the Turkic Investment Fund which will provide the necessary resources for OTS Member and Observer States’ economies and help to build a more robust Turkic financial integration.
The Samarkand Summit marked the end of the mandate of Baghdad Amreyev as the Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States. He was appointed by a special decision of Heads of States as the President of nearly established Turkic Investment Fund.
The leaders appointed the Ambassador of the Kyrgyzstan to Türkiye Kubanychbek Omuraliev as the new Secretary General for the next term.
At the Summit, the Chairmanship of the Organization was transferred from Türkiye to Uzbekistan and the Heads of State adopted the Samarkand Declaration.
The Member States unanimously supported the proposal of the President of Uzbekistan to declare next year the Year of the Rise of the Turkic Civilization.
The Leaders also decided to hold the next Summit in Kazakhstan in 2023.
Documents Signed
The Summit adopted the following documents:
- Samarkand Declaration of the Summit of the Organization of Turkic States;
- Organization of Turkic States Strategy for 2022-2026” for the implementation of the “Turkic World Vision-2040”
- Protocol on amendments to the Nakhchivan Agreement on the Establishment of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States
- Rules of Procedure of the Organization of Turkic States
- Decision on the appointment of the Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States and his deputies, as well as the President and Vice-President of the Turkic Academy;
- Decision on establishment of the Turkic Investment Fund
- Trade Facilitation Strategy of the Organization of Turkic States
- Agreement on International Combined Freight Transport,
- Transport Connectivity Program
- Agreement on Establishment of Simplified Customs Corridor
- Memorandum of Understanding Between Relevant Institutions of the Member States of the Organization of Turkic States About Digital Human Resources System
The Samarkand Declaration is available here:
https://www.turkkon.org/assets/pdf/haberler/samarkand-declaration-2679-165.pdf
Turkmenistan stands for the OTS to become an effective mechanism for influencing political events in the world
Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov took part in the summit as an honorary guest.
Berdimuhamedov stressed that he considers the current Summit as an event that would give a positive impetus to the Organization of Turkic States in international and regional processes, will strengthen economic, trade, investment, cultural and humanitarian cooperation between Turkic nations.
Promoting approaches typical of the current state of international relations, Turkmenistan proceeds from the need to consistently consolidate states’ efforts to achieve the main strategic goal – ensuring universal stability and security in decision-making through strict adherence to international law norms and the United Nations Charter, he emphasized.
As noted, the political situation emerging in a number of regions of the Eurasian continent requires a very thoughtful, clear and serious assessment and the adoption of adequate measures.
Regarding this, it was stated that the OTS should take all necessary measures to end the conflicts and create long-term, responsible solutions, both independently and in close coordination with the international community. The coordinated stances of the Turkic nations should serve as a powerful tool for influencing global political events, upholding principles of equality, national sovereignty, and the freedom of peoples to choose the form of government.
As known, Turkmenistan has proposed to develop a draft resolution of the United Nations General Assembly “Dialogue – a guarantee of peace”. In this regard, Turkmenistan has taken the initiative at the UN to declare 2025 the Year of Peace and Trust. The Chairman of the upper house of the Parliament of Turkmenistan called on the Turkic states to support this initiative.
Effective counter-terrorism, extremism, cyber and biological crime response at all levels – global, regional, and national – was identified as a critical task in the framework of ensuring universal security. We are confident that this task is especially crucial for Turkic countries that have faced similar threats, Arkadag stressed.
The Afghan issue was also called as an integral part of cooperation in the field of regional security, since some of the OTS member countries are neighbors of Afghanistan, have a special historical connection and legitimate interests with this nation. Therefore, to a certain extent they are also responsible for the events taking place in this country.
In this context, the head of the Turkmen delegation drew attention to the need to step up efforts aimed at stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan and creating conditions for achieving national accord through the provision of economic and humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people.
Berdimuhamedov recalled that last year Turkmenistan joined the OTS in observer status. “We contribute to building up the Organization’s potential in the trade, economic, industrial, transport, environmental, cultural and humanitarian fields, which is our strategic task,” he said.
We also strive to intensify trade and economic relations, increase and diversify trade turnover between our countries. In particular, we are talking about economic routes connecting our states, which we consider as a stable and basic system of movement of goods, services and investments in the Eurasian space, Berdimuhamedov continued.
An important component of these routes, in our opinion, is industrial cooperation, the unification of the production and technological potential of our countries and the implementation of major joint infrastructure projects, Arkadag stressed.
As noted, Turkmenistan considers the intensification of partnership in the transport and energy sector among the priorities of the OTS, which today also acts as a determining factor of universal economic growth.
“I am convinced that our common urgent tasks for the foreseeable future should become to integrate into this process in a timely and active manner, using the existing competitive advantages, to ensure the role of a full and effective participant in the formation of new transport and transit corridors, energy routes,” Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said.
“I think that the member countries of the OTS have an understanding of the need to join efforts in this direction. This is confirmed by the consistent support of the Turkic states for Turkmenistan’s initiatives, in particular, the draft Resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly put forward by our country on cooperation in the field of sustainable transport and energy security,” he continued.
It is vital to give impetus to cooperative relations, to develop and actively employ new vectors of corporate partnerships, and to boost joint investments for the implementation of projects in OTS nations, he said.
It is necessary to orient the economic potential of the Turkic states to achieve high results in line with current trends and priority areas of global development, in particular, in the technological and digital spheres.
“Turkmenistan intends to use its participation in the work of the Organization of Turkic States to maintain environmental well-being in our countries and promote the “green” agenda. Here we are ready to share our experience in incorporating high environmental standards into the industrial sector, the social sphere, and the large-scale landscaping process of urban space,” Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov stressed.
Further, the Chairman of the upper house of Parliament proposed a targeted program of exchange and consultations at the expert level to address issues related to climate change, energy supply, and the use of renewable energy sources.
Speaking about the prospects for cooperation within the framework of the OTS on the international humanitarian agenda, particularly on assistance to refugees from the Muslim world, Arkadag emphasized that, in light of the world’s difficult situations, it is critical to maintain an atmosphere of mutual understanding and friendship among OTS states. Cultural connection and contacts through creative, scientific, student, and sport communities should be prioritized in this context.
In addition, it was proposed to scale up the programs and projects implemented by the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY), as well as to carry out work to popularize the life and work of prominent philosophers, poets and prose writers, cultural and art figures in the world.
In this regard, taking the opportunity, Arkadag Berdimuhamedov expressed gratitude to all the member countries of the OTS for supporting Turkmenistan’s proposal within the framework of TURKSOY to declare 2024 the Year of the great poet and thinker of the Turkic world Makhtumkuli and announc the ancient city of Anau as the cultural capital of the Turkic world in 2024.
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov concluded his speech by emphasizing the importance of further strengthening unity and cohesion among neighboring and fraternal peoples united by a common history and origin, expressing Turkmenistan’s readiness for close cooperation to achieve its lofty goals of ensuring peace, prosperity, and progress.
Awarding ceremony at the Summit of the Organization of Turkic States
At the end of the summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States, an award ceremony was held.
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev summarized the results of the summit and noted the achievement of important decisions and agreements.
The President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov were awarded the Highest Order of the Turkic World for the contribution to the active promotion of the interests and views of the Turkic countries in the international arena, strengthening the unity of the Turkic family.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev presented these orders to Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
As known, at the initiative of the head of Uzbekistan, the Alisher Navoi International Prize was established within the framework of the Organization of Turkic States. The first prize was awarded to the great writer and public figure, the outstanding humanist Chingiz Aitmatov.
This award was accepted by the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Sadyr Japarov thanked for the awards and noted that the Samarkand summit was very fruitful for the benefit of fraternal peoples.
What the OTS leaders talked about – quotes from speeches
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev: The Turkic world is a big family. Taking into account each other’s national interests, we must continue to provide mutual support and show solidarity. Along with the political, economic, trade, cultural, transport, energy, agricultural, tourism, and digital transformation sectors, we also need to intensify our cooperation in such areas as security, defense, and the defense industry. The Turkic world consists not only of independent Turkic states, its geographical borders are much wider. I believe that the time has come to keep such issues as rights, security, preservation of national identity, prevention of assimilation of compatriots living outside the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States in the center of attention within the organization on a permanent basis.
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev: Our countries connect West and East, North and South. Therefore, in the current transition period, it is very important to increase the potential of transport and transit communications and maximize the use of their capabilities. A striking example is the Trans–Caspian International Transport Route, which runs through the territories of three fraternal states – Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Türkiye. Therefore, we consider the development of the transport and logistics industry a priority. Kazakhstan has allocated US $35 billion for its development over the past 15 years alone. Our country is interested in increasing the number of transport routes and developing logistics.
President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan: We are going through a sensitive period that bears opportunities as well as risks for our countries. During this period, it has become more critical to strengthen our cooperation, solidarity and harmony in all fields. Since 2014, Türkiye has been the country hosting the largest number of refugees in the world. We believe it would be beneficial to expand cooperation in the prevention and management of irregular migration. Within this scope, it would be on target to develop a common security concept and continue security council secretary meetings.
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev: We have a potential to supply with the agricultural and food products not only our countries, but also the foreign markets.
Along with, we should strengthen our practical steps in this direction and deepen our cooperation based on specific projects.
In particular, I propose the following:
First, it is a high time to adopt a multilateral agreement within our Organization to create an effective system of food supply based on the needs of global and domestic markets and production capacities of our countries.
Second, it is important to establish a comprehensive partnership between the Organization of Turkic States and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to accelerate innovation, modern knowledge and advanced technology in the industry.
Third, based on the positive experience to hold the Turkic Agricultural Forum on the regular basis and organize an international SMART agricultural exhibition at its second conference.
Prime-minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán: Hungary fully supports the work of the Organization of Turkic States and will work to ensure that the Turkic vision is successfully implemented in the next decade.
Planting trees
After the main events of the summit, the leaders of the Turkic countries visited Registan Square.
“Here, on the majestic Registan Square, which is a witness to many historical events, we are taking a symbolic step into a new era of Turkic civilization. Continuing the centuries-old traditions of our great ancestors, we are starting another good initiative,” Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.
It was noted that tree planting is a tradition of the Turkic peoples, a symbol of the commonality of current aspirations.
“It would not be an exaggeration to say that all these initiatives are a vivid symbol of the unity of our aspirations for the common development and well-being of the Turkic peoples. We highly appreciate the fact that today the respected leaders of the Turkic world are planting seedlings with their own hands on this fertile land. After all, these seedlings will grow into trees of life, turn into gardens of friendship and mutual trust, spirituality and the future,” the head of Uzbekistan said.
As a sign of friendship and solidarity, landscaping campaigns were held in all member countries of the Organization of Turkic States at the same time and Turkmenistan joined this initiative as well. In the foothills of Kopetdag, 10 thousand tree seedlings were planted on an area of 25 hectares.///nCa, 12 November 2022