President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arrived Friday in the city of Turkistan to attend the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS).

Erdoğan was welcomed at Hazret Sultan International Airport by Kazakh State Counselor Erlan Qarin, Turkistan Region Governor Nuralgan Kucherov, Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry's Almaty Representative Janibek Zharaskanovich, Kazakhstan's Ambassador to Ankara Yerkebulan Sapiyev, and other officials.

First lady Emine Erdoğan and the accompanying Turkish delegation also arrived in Turkistan with the president.

Erdoğan is attending the OTS Informal Summit at the invitation of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Alongside Erdoğan, the summit will also be attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President Tufan Erhürman.

On the sidelines of the summit, Erdoğan held a closed-door meeting with Uzbek leader Mirziyoyev to discuss bilateral ties, as well as regional and global issues, according to a statement shared by the directorate on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal.

During the meeting, Erdoğan said the two countries would continue efforts to enhance cooperation in all fields, particularly in the defense industry and trade, the statement added.

Erdoğan also said he believes Türkiye and Uzbekistan will increase solidarity on international platforms, and invited Mirziyoyev to the OTS Summit and COP31, both to be held in Türkiye.