“OTS summit to set the tone for the fruitful development of cooperation”
By Djalalov Muzaffar Mukhitdinovich(Rector of Inha University in Tashkent)
SAMARKAND(Uzbekstan):The first summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) is a new stage in the development of cooperation between Turkic-speaking states
Today, our country is once again living in anticipation of another very significant political event – the First Summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), which will be held on November 11, 2022 in the ancient and eternally young city of Samarkand. Again, because quite recently – on September 15-16, 2022, the next SCO summit was held there, which became the fourth such event held in Uzbekistan. The previous ones were held in Tashkent in 2004, 2010 and 2016.
It seems that the choice of Samarkand to host the first OTS summit is to a certain extent due to the importance of Uzbekistan for the organization, which joined the then Turkic Council in 2019, which later transformed into the OTS.
First of all, it should be noted the noticeable activity of our republic in the international arena. The country has become even more recognizable and attractive to the entire world community due to deep and comprehensive reforms of almost all aspects of the socio-economic, domestic and foreign policy, cultural and international agenda of the country’s life, as well as a significantly increased transparency of the work of the managerial level and, as a result, – respectively increased public confidence in the state.
The upcoming summit is the first for the Organization of Turkic States. What do we expect from the summit and from the Organization as a whole?
For reference: The forerunner of the current structure was the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (CCTS), established on October 3, 2009 in Nakhichevan (Azerbaijan) at the IX Summit of the Heads of Turkic Speaking States. During the VIII summit in Istanbul on November 12, 2021, it was decided to rename this structure into the “Organization of Turkic States” (OTG). The first summit of the heads of Turkic-speaking states was held on October 30, 1992 in Ankara on the initiative of the President of the Republic of Turkey T. Ozal. Further, similar summits were held in Istanbul – 1994, Bishkek – 1995, Tashkent – 1996, Astana – 1998, Baku – 2000, Istanbul – 2001 city, Antalya – 2006, Nakhichevan – 2009
First, the Samarkand summit will be a high-level meeting aimed at implementing the historic decisions taken at the last summit in Istanbul. Its agenda will focus on the economy and trade, political and security cooperation.
Secondly, today, when determining the level of development of the states of the Central Asian region and the South Caucasus, assessing and forecasting the situation, it is important to take into account the factor of cooperation between the Turkic countries. This kind of determinant of commonwealth and cooperation makes additional adjustments to the current geopolitical situation in the world, which is complicated by various crises, as well as the geo-economic, cultural, and value picture of our region.
Thirdly, the organization is expected to become an effective mechanism for building new regional and global landscapes, new institutions, new relationships between countries in order to stimulate the growth of mutual prosperity, strengthen peace and stability. At the same time, it is important that Uzbekistan has valuable experience in the formation of effective relations of a new type in terms of interstate relations, cooperation between organizations and regions.
Fourthly, the progressively developing and strengthening political relations between the countries that are members of the Organization, based on mutual trust, give reason to believe that the heads of the member states of the organization will firmly and confidently promote comprehensive mutually beneficial ties between countries. This, in turn, guarantees the constant filling of the cooperation agenda with new promising areas.
Fifth, the dynamics of trade and economic interaction between the member countries of the Organization is systematically and consistently increasing. For example, Turkey has become one of the largest trade and economic partners of Uzbekistan – 4th after Russia, China and Kazakhstan, which, in turn, is Uzbekistan’s largest trading partner in Central Asia. So, in 2020, Kazakhstan became the third largest trading partner of Uzbekistan with a share of 9.3% in foreign trade, yielding to China (17.7%) and Russia (17.4%).
Sixthly, the Organization attaches great importance to the development of cooperation in the field of transport and logistics, ensuring the transport interconnectedness of countries. In this context, the issue of transforming the Trans-Caspian International Middle Corridor into the shortest, safest and most competitive transport link between East and West is of particular importance.
Many people are interested in the question of the possible negative impact of Turkic cooperation on Uzbekistan’s relations with other organizations and formats in which Uzbekistan and its OTS partners operate. Here it is important to understand the ongoing changes in the models of building multilateral cooperation of our state in the current conditions, which are aimed at achieving a “synergistic effect”. All countries of the Organization of Turkic States, as well as Uzbekistan, are confident in the impossibility of any contradiction with other organizations and formats that the Turkic states are members of. Moreover, as one of our experts noted, the OTS can increase the effectiveness of other multilateral formats with the participation of the Turkic countries, as it creates another source of economic, scientific and technological growth in Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
Without a doubt, the forthcoming Samarkand summit of the Organization of Turkic States is the affirmation of the Turkic community, a new stage that sets the tone for the fruitful development of cooperation between the Turkic-speaking states.
