Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called for closer coordination among Turkic states in the face of mounting global and regional challenges during talks in New York, as Türkiye seeks to strengthen the Organization of Turkic States' (OTS) international role and visibility.
Fidan attended an informal meeting of the OTS Council of Foreign Ministers on the sidelines of the high-level week of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The meeting, hosted by Azerbaijan, brought together representatives from Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as well as observer states the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Turkmenistan and the OTS secretary-general.
During his address, Fidan stressed the importance of Turkic states acting with a shared vision and maintaining close coordination in responding to regional and global challenges.
He also outlined Türkiye's vision for increasing the OTS' effectiveness and visibility on the international stage.
The ministers discussed preparations for the 13th OTS Summit, scheduled to be hosted by Türkiye in Ankara on Oct. 29-30. They also exchanged views on global and regional issues affecting the Turkic world and considered steps to deepen the organization's institutional cooperation with international bodies.
The gathering marked the fourth informal meeting of the OTS Council of Foreign Ministers in 2026, following meetings in Istanbul on March 7, Antalya on April 18 on the sidelines of the fifth Antalya Diplomacy Forum, and Turkistan on May 15 alongside an informal OTS summit.
In a joint statement adopted after the New York meeting, the ministers emphasized the importance of securing observer status for the OTS at the U.N. General Assembly. The statement also called for strengthening the organization's international role and expanding its capacity to establish institutional ties with international and regional actors.
Separately, Fidan continued his diplomatic contacts in New York by meeting Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly high-level week.
