Uzbek president praises Türkiye's chairmanship in Organization of Turkic States

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev praised on Friday Türkiye's chairmanship in the Organization of the Turkic States (OTS).

"I would like to emphasize that over the past year, during Türkiye's chairmanship in our organization, significant and multifaceted work has been done, and our cooperation has intensified even more," he told the leaders of the organization in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

In face of the "alarming" global situation, difficult challenges related to the growing geopolitical confrontation, and negative consequences of the global economic crisis and climate change, Mirziyoyev called on the Turkic countries to identify common approaches and coordinate efforts in solving the most pressing problems.

The Uzbek president said "a huge work" was done jointly to develop ties among the OTS members, however, the potential has not been completely unlocked -- the trade turnover among members mounts to only 4% of the total volume, partly due to high customs tariffs.

To address the situation, Mirziyoyev suggested organizing a "space of new economic opportunities" within the Turkic states, increasing trade and discussing common problems at an annual International Turkic Economic Forum.

He also urged to strengthen transport ties by building the infrastructure and developing capabilities of the Trans-Caspian corridor -- the route running via the Caspian Sea.

"We call on the member countries of the organization to join the system of electronic exchange of permits in the field of transport, recently introduced between Türkiye and Uzbekistan," he said.

Mirziyoyev also suggested ensuring food security, saying that adopting a multilateral agreement on the establishment of an effective food supply system within the OTS, holding an annual agricultural Turkic forum, and cooperation in agriculture and food production would contribute to achieving this goal.

The president voiced concern over the deteriorating security situation in the world, pointing out that Uzbekistan neighbors one of the most conflict-torn countries in the world -- Afghanistan.

"Of course, we are all seriously concerned about the situation in neighboring Afghanistan today. ... We advocate for a regular dialogue between the foreign ministers of the organization's member countries in order to develop common approaches to the Afghan issue," he stressed.

Mirziyoyev expressed gratitude for the designation of Samarkand "the capital of the Turkic civilization" and Bukhara the 2022 youth capital of the OTS.

"We are rightfully proud of our common great ancestors, who wrote bright pages in the ancient history of the Turkic world," he said.

The Uzbek president offered to hold an International Congress of Science and Innovation of the youth of the Turkic world in Uzbekistan next year and to establish a position of the OTS deputy secretary general for youth affairs.

He also suggested reforming the OTS Secretariat-General to make it an effective mechanism for implementing all OTS tasks and increasing its international role.

Mirziyoyev put forward two more initiatives in culture -- holding a Festival of Culture of the Turkic Peoples next year as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the organization and publishing a 100-volume collection, Pearls of Turkic Literature, in the languages of all participating countries and observers.

He also said the Turkic states have entered into a completely new stage of development under the motto "A new era of Turkic civilization: On the way to common progress and prosperity," noting that preserving, studying, and passing Turkic heritage to future generations is among of the most important tasks of the OTS.