On Wednesday November 6, the 11th Summit of the Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) concluded in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, under the theme “Strengthening the Turkic World: Economic Integration, Sustainable Development, Digital Future, and Security for All.”
The summit was chaired by the President of the Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán and OTS Secretary-General Kubanychbek Omuraliyev delivered statements at the meeting.
The OTS’s official website says the leaders of OTS member states discussed key issues related to economic integration, strengthening transport and logistics links, sustainable development, as well as cultural and scientific cooperation among the member states.
In their speeches, they reportedly emphasized the importance of close collaboration to achieve shared goals and advance the interests of the Turkic world.
The work of the Turkic Academy was highly commended, especially for its significant contribution to the creation of the Unified Turkic Alphabet—an important project aimed at further strengthening cultural unity and comprehensive ties among OTS member states.
As a result of the summit, the OTS chairmanship for 2025 passed from the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Kyrgyz Republic. In addition, eight key documents, including the Declaration of the 11th Summit, were signed during the summit.
The Organization of Turkic States (OTS), formerly called the Turkic Council or the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, is an international organization comprising prominent independent Turkic countries: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan. It 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.
Hungary and Turkmenistan are the observer states. Hungary received the observer status in 2018, while Turkmenistan received the observer status in 2021.
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.
