The 10th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), convened by Kazakhstan on Nov. 3, marked the inauguration of a historic era for the future of Eurasia. Hosted under the theme of "Turkish Era," as declared by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the summit signifies a phase wherein we will collaborate closely to shape the upcoming era as a "Turkish Era." This endeavor involves extending the "Century of Türkiye" vision, the most fundamental road map for the next 100 years of the country, to encompass the OTS.
At the very beginning of his speech, Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who handed over the term presidency of the OTS, reminded the audience of the quote of Bilge Khagan, the fourth Qaghan of the Second Turkic Khaganate, "O Turkic Nation; turn to yourself, understand yourself and you will rise even higher," showing how invaluable the awakening in the Turkic world under Türkiye's leadership and the rediscovery of its power and essence in Eurasia is. Rediscovering their roots and recognizing the unyielding strength born from their unity, Turkic states are embarking on an era of growth once more.
Reaffirming Türkiye's pivotal role in connecting Asia, Europe and Africa, the nation deliberates on elevating the Middle Corridor to a premier route for economy, commerce, energy and logistics worldwide. Under the banner of "Our unity is our strength," President Erdoğan emphasizes the shared goal among leaders to fortify the Turkic world across various domains, enhancing resilience in the face of diverse challenges. The leaders highlighted the significance of establishing a unified transit network to amplify the Middle Corridor's role in the global supply chain.
Fortunately, the Middle Corridor meeting, hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Istanbul center, which has been put into operation under the leadership of Türkiye, is being held in Istanbul with the participation of over a hundred senior managers of OTS countries, private sector representatives and OECD experts. The indispensability of the Middle Corridor among global logistics corridors and the inevitable role it will play in meeting the global transportation and logistics demand that will increase exponentially in the next 10 years is now the subject of many international meetings.
As President Erdoğan stated, shoulder to shoulder, steps are being taken toward the peace, tranquility, prosperity and security of the OTS countries and Eurasia.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also said that he was very pleased with the rapid institutionalization and deepening of cooperation between OTS countries and emphasized the importance of making efforts to make the Middle Corridor even more attractive in terms of investment and transporting trans-Caspian resources, especially Turkmen natural gas, to Türkiye and Europe.
Erdoğan stated that Türkiye continues its efforts to sustain the success the organization has achieved so far. He also reiterated that the protocol regarding amendments to the Nakhchivan Agreement was accepted by the Turkish Parliament on Oct. 3, which also marks "Turkish Cooperation Day," and that the internal approval process of the protocol was completed as of Nov. 1. He invited all member countries to take the necessary steps to implement the protocol as soon as possible.
Erdoğan's following statement confirms Bilge Khagan's words: "Our current potential in various areas of cooperation, especially in trade and economy, energy and transportation, promises us much more."
It is time to convert the potential of cooperation into billions of dollars of added value in the name of the rise of the "Turkish Era."
