Azernews.Az

For the first time, Azerbaijan will host the Solidarity Forum of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) of the Member States of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS), bringing together civil society representatives from across the Turkic world.

According to the Agency for State Support to Non-Governmental Organisations of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the forum will take place from 23 to 26 November 2025. The official opening ceremony is scheduled for 24 November at the Gulustan Palace in Baku.

The forum will feature panel discussions on key regional themes, including “The Zangezur Corridor: A Bridge Connecting the Turkic World” and “Towards WUF13 – A First for the Turkic World”.

Nearly 300 NGO representatives from Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Hungary, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus are expected to participate.

As part of the event, the First Azerbaijan–Kazakhstan NGO Cooperation Forum will also be held, aiming to strengthen bilateral civil society ties between the two nations.

Following its sessions in Baku, the forum will continue in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, where the establishment of the Platform of NGOs of the Member States of the Organisation of Turkic States is expected to be officially announced. The new platform will unite NGOs from all eight participating countries under a shared framework of cooperation.

This initiative builds on Azerbaijan’s growing leadership in global civil society cooperation. Earlier this year, Baku hosted the founding meeting of the Global South NGO Platform, bringing together representatives from regions covering two-thirds of the world’s population. In 2025, Azerbaijan also hosted the first meeting of NGOs from the D-8 group of Muslim-majority countries, representing 60% of the global Muslim population.

During the Azerbaijan NGO Cooperation Forum held in Khankendi on 20 October 2025, participants highlighted that the greatest achievement of Azerbaijani NGOs over the past two years has been their expanding international engagement. The establishment of the new Turkic States NGO Platform marks another major step in this direction, symbolising the growing solidarity and institutional partnership within the Turkic world.