The 10th anniversary meeting of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) was held in Astana, Kazakhstan under the call of "Turkic Century". Prior to the summit, high-ranking officials met and agreed on the preparation of documents on a number of economic and political issues, including trade, transport, customs and other areas. The summit will serve as a crucial platform for high-level discussions on the OTS's broad agenda.
Ayhan Satici, head of the Turkish World Research Center (TDAM), which operates under the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication said this in his statement to AZERTAC.
According to him, holding bilateral meetings of the heads of state within the framework of this summit is a clear example of the strengthening of relations between the Turkic states.
It should be noted that at the 10th anniversary Summit, the chairmanship of OTS was transferred from the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Republic of Kazakhstan. Also, as a result of the Summit, the Turkic Investment Fund will start operating.
A. Satici said that the authorized capital of the Turkic Investment Fund is 500 million US dollars. If we look at investments, we can see that Azerbaijan plays driver role among Turkic states in direct foreign investment. At the summit, President Ilham Aliyev also emphasized that Azerbaijan has so far invested more than 20 billion US dollars in the economy of the Turkic states. The establishment of the Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Investment Fund and the Azerbaijan-Kyrgyzstan Development Fund should also be specially mentioned.
In general, "Turkic World Vision-2040" and OTS 2022-2026 Strategy documents were adopted in order to reach the desired level of using the existing potential within the framework of OTS. The main goals of the periodically held meetings are to effectively achieve the goals set within the framework of these documents. Trade turnover within OTS member and observer countries exceeded 57 billion US dollars in 2022. However, the total trade turnover of these countries with the world in 2022 was 1.2 trillion US dollars.
A. Satici emphasized that a number of steps have been taken in recent times in order to ensure the effective use of the existing potential. The most important documents on trade facilitation include the agreements "On international combined cargo transport" and "On the establishment of a simplified customs corridor". These legally responsible agreements will serve to increase the trade turnover between the countries. It should be noted that a new reality has emerged against the backdrop of geopolitical unrest in the region. In the new conditions, the geo-economic nature of the transport route passing through the countries of the Turkic world, which we call the Middle Corridor, has increased considerably. At the summit meeting, the heads of state also emphasized that they consider this challenge as a strategic goal for the Turkic states to turn it into an opportunity within the framework of the OTS.
"The megaprojects implemented by Azerbaijan, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the Southern Gas Corridor, the Zangezur corridor, and the large construction and infrastructure works created around these economic corridors are noteworthy. In addition, Azerbaijan has already proven its position as a reliable transit country, and Azerbaijan's trade turnover with the Turkic states increased by 40 percent in January-September 2023 compared to the corresponding period last year. If we look at Azerbaijan's bilateral relations, we can see that relations with Turkic states are deepening in many areas. President Ilham Aliyev visited Kazakhstan for three times in the last two years. At the summit meeting, it was noted that the development of bilateral and multilateral relations should not be limited only to economic, political and cultural fields, taking into account the geopolitical situation in the region, relations should be strengthened in areas such as the military and defense industry, Ayhan Satici pointed out.