The Organization of Turkic States (OTS), a key international body for the integration of the Turkic world, turned 15 on Thursday. Originally founded as the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking Countries (the Turkic Council), the organization's foundations were laid by the Nakhchivan Agreement signed on Oct. 3, 2009, by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Türkiye.
The aim of the OTS is to integrate the Turkic world through shared historical and cultural values and cooperation in diverse fields, including economy, politics, education, culture, defense, security, transportation, customs, tourism and sports. It also serves to enhance the geopolitical position of the Turkic world, with its member countries covering a total area of 4.25 million square kilometers (over 1.6 million square miles) and a population of around 160 million, gaining considerable regional recognition over the past 15 years. The OTS originally emerged as a summit between the heads of Turkic states in 1992 when former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) countries began declaring independence.
The decision to rename the council to the Organization of Turkic States at the 8th Summit of Heads of State in Istanbul on Nov. 12, 2021, marked the start of a new era in the Turkic world's integration on the international stage. Today, it includes five full members, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan, with Turkmenistan, Hungary and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as observers. Based in Istanbul, the OTS is made up of five principal bodies: The Council of Heads of State, the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Council of Elders, the Senior Officials Committee, and the Secretariat. It acts as an umbrella organization for cooperation mechanisms like the Parliamentary Assembly of the Turkic Speaking Countries (TURKPA), the International Turkic Academy, the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY), the Turkic Investment Fund and the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation. It also partners with major international organizations, including the U.N., the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the World Customs Organization (WCO). The organization also maintains a representative office in Hungary's capital Budapest to strengthen ties with its observer members and advance relations with institutions to boost its visibility in Europe, like the EU, the OSCE, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Visegrad Group, which comprises of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Czechia. With its Turkic World Vision 2040 document, the OTS hopes to foster mutual trust and healthy human relations, strengthen political solidarity, promote economic and technical cooperation, and document the Turkic world's historical and cultural heritage.
At the 10th Anniversary Summit of the OTS in Kazakhstan, leaders adopted the slogan "Turkic Era" and committed to closer cooperation in defense and security. Over 15 years, the OTS has successfully integrated member-state institutions and communities. Recent activities have increased interest in shared historical and cultural values, with the Turkic Academy's agreement on a 34-letter Common Turkic Alphabet celebrated across the Turkic world. The OTS has hosted 10 summits and will hold its 11th on Nov. 6 in Kyrgyzstan.
Issuing a message on the occasion of the anniversary, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the OTS, which represents the strong will of the Turkic world for cooperation based on common language, history and cultural values, was "committed to serving peace and prosperity in its region and beyond." "Türkiye will continue to work to advance the principle of "unity in language, ideas and work" among the Turkic States," the statement by the ministry said.
