13th OTS Summit — Azerbaijan hands over chairmanship to Turkey
On October 30, the 13th Summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) was held in Ankara.
As AZERTAC reports, the Summit, organized under the motto "The Turkic Century: Unity in Language, Thoughts and Deeds," was attended by the presidents of Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Northern Cyprus (an observer member of the OTS). Azerbaijan was represented at the event by Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov.
President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan was the first to speak at the summit.
"Turkey is taking over the chairmanship from Azerbaijan. We aim to turn the institutional experience accumulated by our organization to date into new achievements. We will declare the coming period the Turkic Century," the President of Turkey stated.
Then, on behalf of Azerbaijan, which held the chairmanship of the OTS, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov delivered a speech.
In conclusion of his address, he thanked the member states for their support during Azerbaijan's chairmanship and wished Turkey success during its chairmanship.
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed gratitude to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev for his contribution to the development of relations within the OTS and the strengthening of fraternal ties between the Turkic peoples.
Noting that the OTS should rally even more closely around strategic goals, the President of Uzbekistan emphasized that they are ready to mobilize all their forces for the sake of Turkic solidarity.
President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov highly appreciated the period of Azerbaijan's chairmanship of the OTS. He stated that during official Baku's chairmanship, great attention was paid to the development of cooperation within the organization and the promotion of joint initiatives.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in turn, announced the opening of the Trans-Caspian fiber-optic communication line between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan and said that other Turkic states could also take part in the project.
Stating that Kazakhstan is implementing a special program to increase its transit potential, Tokayev emphasized that the modernization of logistics infrastructure and seaports along the Middle Corridor is among his country's priorities.
President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov called for the expansion of economic cooperation between the Turkic states.
He noted that Turkmenistan attaches particular importance to strengthening friendly relations with the Turkic states and regards the OTS as an important organization that encourages mutual trust, the development of effective ties, and practical cooperation between fraternal countries.
President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Tufan Erhurman stated his readiness to hold talks with all parties toward a long-term and fair settlement of the problems on the island.
At the Summit, gratitude was expressed to Kubanychbek Omuraliev (Kyrgyzstan), who completed his work as Secretary General of the OTS, and the appointment of the new Secretary General Mirvohid Azimov (Uzbekistan) was approved.
At the end, the joint declaration of the 13th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States (the Ankara Declaration) was signed. The declaration, consisting of 163 articles, emphasizes the importance of strengthening cooperation in a wide range of areas — from regional connectivity and the defense industry to a common alphabet and transport corridors.
