President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has called don residents of Turkiye to vote for “my dear brother” Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the presidential election.
“On behalf of our fraternal peoples I appeal to the Turkish people to support President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's candidacy in the upcoming presidential election,” Uzbek leader said on March 16 while delivering a statement at the extraordinary summit of leaders of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) that took place in Ankara yesterday, Fergana news agency reported on March 16.
Speaking at the summit, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov reportedly wished success to Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the presidential election that is scheduled for May 14.
Turkish media reports say Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted the extraordinary summit of leaders of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) on March 16.
The theme of the summit that took place in Ankara was “Disaster-Emergency Management and Humanitarian Assistance.”
Anadolu Agency (AA) says Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed both the leaders and OTS Secretary-General Kubanychbek Omuraliev at the presidential complex.
The summit was attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyzstan's President Sadyr Japarov, Uzbek leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and chairman of the People’s Council of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
The TRNC, which obtained an observer status during last year’s summit in Uzbekistan, participated in an OTS summit for the first time.
During the meeting, the leaders reportedly elaborated on multilateral cooperation and coordination mechanisms in the fight against disasters, and hold consultations on current challenges in the region.
The Organization of Turkic States (OTS), formerly called the Turkic Council or the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, is an intergovernmental organization whose overarching aim is promoting comprehensive cooperation among Turkic-speaking states. First proposed by the then Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 2006, it was founded on October 3, 2009, in Nakhchivan. The General Secretariat is in Istanbul.
The Organization members are Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, while EU state Hungary, Turkmenistan, and the TRNC have observer status.
To-date, nine summits of OTS have taken place. During the 8th summit, which was held in November 12, 2021, the council reformed into an organization, with the name Turkic Council being changed to Organization of Turkic States. The Uzbek city of Samarkand hosted the ninth OTS summit on November 11 last year.
