Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Thursday conferred the country's High-ranking Imam al Bukhari Order on his Turkish counterpart President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Erdoğan is in Samarkand to participate in a summit of Turkic states.
In his address, Mirziyoyev said the award was being given to Erdoğan for protecting and contributing to the welfare and prosperity of Muslims globally.
He added that Erdoğan has "a great reputation and influence" not only in Türkiye, but in the entire Muslim world.
"This is a great honor that this precious order is given to me on the behalf of Imam Bukhari," Erdoğan said after receiving the award.
The president underlined that he is accepting the order as a symbol of "eternal and strong brotherhood' between Türkiye and Uzbekistan.
Thanking Mirziyoyev and the people of Uzbekistan, Erdoğan said: "I fully believe that we will take our relationship, which we have raised to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership, to even higher levels."
Uzbekistan awards scientists, researchers, writers, as well as leaders of foreign countries and governments for their special services with the High-ranking Imam al Bukhari Order.
Erdoğan on Thursday arrived in Samarkand, Uzbekistan to attend the Ninth Summit of Turkish State Organizations.
Erdoğan was welcomed at Samarkand International Airport by Uzbekistan's Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev, and Deputy Foreign Minister Gayrat Fazilov as well as Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Türkiye's Ambassador to Tashkent Olgan Bekar, and Uzbekistan's Ambassador to Ankara Alisher Agzamhodjayev.
The president was accompanied by first lady Emine Erdoğan, Youth and Sports Minister Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, National Education Minister Mahmut Özer, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Trade Minister Mehmet Muş, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, and Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın.
The theme of the summit will be "New Era for Turkish Civilization: Towards Common Development and Prosperity."
At the summit, important decisions that will form the first five-year implementation guide of the vision document, which constitutes the 20-year roadmap of the organization, will be taken, and the term presidency will be transferred from Türkiye to Uzbekistan.
Decisions will also be taken on several important issues as well as "finalizing various agreements and official documents of the organization's projects in the fields of economy, trade, transport, and customs."
Ahead of the group's ninth summit, Türkiye's foreign minister on Thursday urged close cooperation among members of the Organization of Turkic States.
"We are going through a difficult time. We must maintain close consultations and develop medium- and long-term strategies that will make us resilient in the face of shocks," Çavuşoğlu said during a meeting of the group's foreign ministers in Samarkand.
The Turkic World Vision 2040 document, which was approved by the organization's heads of state at its eighth summit in Istanbul last November, was an "important step for the long term," Çavuşoğlu said.
Finalizing the strategy document, which is the first five-year implementation guide of the bloc's vision document, was one of the priorities of Türkiye's term presidency of the bloc, Çavuşoğlu noted, adding: "It is our common duty to ensure that these decisions are implemented."
Çavuşoğlu underlined that recent developments also present opportunities for the member states.
"We have to develop connections and transport corridors between member countries. This target is an important element of both the vision document and the strategy document," he added.
Çavuşoğlu also welcomed three agreements to be adopted by member countries on Friday, including the trade facilitation strategy document, simplified customs corridor, and international combined freight transportation.
"Türkiye attaches importance to its trilateral processes with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan," Çavuşoğlu said, adding that the country is determined to maintain these mechanisms.
"The institutional transformation of the Turkic Council into the Organization of Turkic States requires us to take visionary steps," Çavuşoğlu noted, saying significant works were carried out in accordance with this purpose during Türkiye's term presidency.
With the group's ninth summit, member countries will carry the efforts in this direction to a further point, Çavuşoğlu noted.
Also, the decision to establish a Turkish investment fund was one of the important steps of Türkiye's term presidency, Çavuşoğlu said. "The asset management company model will be the best choice in terms of both more efficient management of funding resources and international funding."
Çavuşoğlu also announced that Kyrgyz Ambassador Kubanicbek Omuraliyev will be appointed as the secretary-general of the Organization of Turkic States with the approval of the leaders of member countries.
