Azernews.Az

By Vugar Khalilov

The Organization of Turkic States (OTS) provides great opportunities in fighting regional challenges, Azernews reports, citing Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.

Bayramov delivered the remarks at the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Turkic States in Istanbul, Turkiye, on October 17.

“In view of swiftly changing developments in our vast geography and the increased importance of our region, our joint activities should be further intensified in order to effectively tackle these challenges on one hand, and better utilize new opportunities to the benefit of our nations and states, on the other. The Organization of Turkic States is a very important platform to achieve these goals,” Bayramov stressed.

Turkey's chairmanship of OTS has made an important contribution to boosting member-state cooperation and in this regard, convening the next summit in Uzbekistan on November 11 would help to strengthen the organization even further, the minister underlined.

Several key papers, including the Organization of Turkic States' Strategic Roadmap for 2022-2026, the Organization's Rules of Procedure, and other documents, will be adopted during the Summit, he added.

“We attach special attention to the adoption of the Strategic Road Map of the Organization of Turkic States for 2022-2026. We are of the belief that this document will be concise and target-oriented in order to serve its purpose,” Bayramov emphasized.

Commenting on a number of changes in the secretariat's personnel, Bayramov reiterated that Azerbaijan has always supported strengthening the secretariat, and backed all candidates presented by member and observer nations.

“At the same time, Azerbaijan has also nominated its candidates for the positions of the President of the Turkic Academy and the Deputy Secretary General of the Organization of the Turkic States. We count on your support in this regard,” he stressed.

The diplomat pointed out that Azerbaijan is in close cooperation with OTS member states both within the framework of the organization, as well as on a bilateral basis. In this regard, the recent visits of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Turkiye, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan are of exceptional importance.

Bayramov stressed the importance of selecting Shusha as the cultural capital of the Turkic world for the year 2023, adding that the organization actively engages in the promotion of Shusha and various events that are being hosted in the city.

“In this regard, the Shusha Turkic Business Forum held on 16 September 2022 proved to be extremely useful with a view to identifying the specific directions through which, the Organization can support the development of the liberated Karabakh region of Azerbaijan after the devastating occupation,” Bayramov recalled.

Similarly, the July gathering of the official think tanks of OTS member and observer states in Shusha also provided a great venue for in-depth debates aimed at enhancing cooperation and partnership among the Turkic states, the minister added.

Azerbaijan supports OTS's efforts and will continue to work for strengthening connections amongst fraternal nations under the Organization's auspices. In this context, the associated and connected Turkic organizations, as well as the Coordination Committee, must enhance their efforts, Bayramov said.

“I believe that our friendly and brotherly countries will continue to work shoulder to shoulder to achieve all the goals and will continue to contribute to the bright future of the Turkic world,” he stressed.

Bayramov thanked his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, for organizing the meeting at such a high level, expressing sorrow for the human losses caused by the tragic explosion at the coal mine in Bartin, Turkiye.

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