President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan praised the observer status granted to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in the Organization of Turkic States (OTS).
"The family photo was completed with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) becoming an observer member of the Organization of Turkic States," Erdoğan told Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar over the phone.
According to a statement by the Turkish Presidency's Directorate of Communications, Erdoğan told Tatar that "they will continue the struggle together in line with the historic call he made to the international community for the recognition of the TRNC in his address to the United Nations General Assembly."
Erdoğan once again conveyed his congratulations on the 39th anniversary of the founding of the TRNC.
The Organization of Turkic States is an interstate bloc, established with the aim of expanding cooperation between Turkic-speaking countries in the fields of politics, economics, science, education, transport and tourism.
Its members are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan.
Hungary and Turkmenistan also have observer status.
Last week, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu announced the TRNC’s admission to the organization as an observer member.
Türkiye presents Distinguished Service Award to former head of OTS
The top Turkish diplomat on Friday presented the Distinguished Service Award of the Foreign Ministry to Baghdad Amreyev, former secretary general of the Organization of Turkic States.
At the ceremony in Istanbul, Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu said that Amreyev "has made valuable contributions to Türkiye-Kazakhstan relations and increasing solidarity in the Turkic world in his 40 years of professional life."
Çavuşoğlu noted that the Distinguished Service Award of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been given to nearly 140 natural and legal persons since 1989, adding that during his tenure 12 people received this award.
"We will continue to take steps that will transform both our country and the great Turkic world into a belt of security and prosperity," he said.
For his part, Amreyev thanked Çavuşoğlu for the award, and said: "During my duty as secretary general of the Organization of Turkic States, which I carried out with great honor and pride in the last four years, the Turkic world, the Organization of Turkic States, changed dramatically."
He said that it is the first time in history that Turkic states act as a single entity, thanks to the gains they have made in recent years.
"The Turkic world is no longer a rhetoric, it is a reality. They are aware of each other. Our countries know that they are not alone. The whole world knows this very well. This is a new paradigm," Amreyev said.
"I would like to thank President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu for their political support in the most critical processes in the implementation of developments that strengthen the unity and values of the Turkic world," he added.
The leaders of the Organization of Turkic States established the Turkic Investment Fund and appointed Amreyev its president last week.