On November 3, Astana hosted a significant gathering of Turks. Leaders from member states and countries with observer status participated in the festive tenth summit of the Organization of Turkic States. Founded as the Turkic Council in 2009, the organization has evolved into a platform where opinions are expressed, and crucial agreements are made.
It is known that the Head of State, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, emphasized the increasing international role of the Organization of Turkic States. At last year's meeting in Samarkand, the President highlighted Kazakhstan's role as the progenitor of the Turkic world, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive relations with all member countries.
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"We are interested in further strengthening our relationship and taking it to a new level. If we study the history of organizations that catalyzed Turkish cooperation, we will see that Kazakhstan initiated most of them. TURKSOY, TurkPA, and Turki Academy are clear evidence of that. These organizations contribute immeasurably to the cultural and spiritual closeness of brotherly countries. The Kazakh-Turkish International University, named after Kozha Ahmet Yasawi in Turkestan, plays a huge role in strengthening mutual ties," said the Head of State.
According to the plan, the presidents of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the Prime Minister of Hungary will participate in the event. Some media outlets have already reported that Hungary and Turkmenistan will become full members of the organization at the meeting in Astana.
The event was attended by the Presidents and heads of government of member countries and observer states, who signed important documents. This fundamental meeting, organized during a period of international political instability, is significant for both Kazakhstan and the Turkic world.
“The organization, which was established as the Turkic Council in 2009 and became a TSO in 2021, has so far held meetings in Almaty (2011), Bishkek (2012), Gabala (2013), Bodrum (2014), Astana (2015), Cholpon-Ata (2018), Baku. Nine summits were held in Istanbul (2021) and Samarkand (2022). In addition to the official summits, the heads of state exchanged views at the first emergency summit held online due to the pandemic in April 2020 and the second emergency summit organized in Ankara on March 16, 2023, due to the earthquake in Turkey, as well as at the informal Turkestan summit held online in March 2021,” says Mr. Ametbek.
In this regard, let's delve a little into the history of the Organization of Turkic States. The organization was founded in 2009 in the city of Nakhchivan (Azerbaijan) on the initiative of Kazakhstan as the "Turkish Council." Its Secretariat is located in Istanbul. Currently, the Organization includes Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. Hungary and Turkmenistan have observer status.
In general, the leaders of the Turkic-speaking countries often met with the leaders of brotherly countries after gaining independence. After the visits of the heads of state at that time, mutual communication and negotiations gained a special momentum. At the initiative of the then President of Turkey, Turgit Özal, the first summit of the heads of Turkic-speaking countries was held.
This important initiative was supported by the participants. The leaders of the Turkic world regularly held their summits and made it a good tradition. As a result of such work, many important steps have been taken towards increasing cooperation and brotherhood. For example, in 1998, a permanent Secretariat was established to give concrete results at the next collegiate meeting held in Almaty. However, the initiative did not materialize immediately.
There is reason to believe that the Turkic invasion, which has been dormant for some time, has gained momentum in the new millennium. The "Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan" oil pipeline was officially launched in the capital of Azerbaijan in May 2005. Heads of Turkic-speaking countries participated in this fundamental meeting and held a high-level meeting. At the meeting, it was clearly revealed that the relations between the Turkic-speaking countries are rapidly developing.
The 8th summit held in Antalya in 2006 is worth noting as the next milestone of the Organization of Turkic States. The meeting was attended by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey. During the meeting, the initiative to establish the Turkic Council was raised. Another issue worth noting is that an agreement was made at the congress on the establishment of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking countries. The first meeting of the new structure was held in September 2009 in Baku, and the second in April 2011 in Astana.
Three years later, Turkish cooperation gained new momentum in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan. Thus, in October 2009, the leaders of the Turkic-speaking countries laid the foundation for a large-scale foundation that formed the beginning of the Turkic world. As a result, an agreement was made on the establishment of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States and the Turkic Academy, and the integration of Turkic became stronger.
The Nakhchivan Agreement was adopted at the summit and became a document of special importance in the history of Turkic-speaking peoples. According to that agreement, the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking countries was established. Later, on May 25, 2010, the Turkish Academy was opened in the capital as part of the implementation of the issues mentioned in the document.
The Turkic Academy aims to become a unique center that coordinates scientific research related to the Turkic world, studying the history, language, literature, and culture of the Turkic world from ancient times to the present, revealing the place and special contribution of the Turkic states in world civilization based on historical data.
The activity of this organization is significant in unearthing our common heritage buried in the dust of history and instilling in the minds of the younger generation that we are brothers. Even if we consider only the projects "Common Turkic history", "Common Turkic literature", "Common Turkic geography", we can see that a special contribution was made to the integration processes. These projects inculcate information about brotherly nations in the minds of the younger generation and ensure that they grow up wishing for each other. That is, cultural and humanitarian projects are laying the foundation for Turkish integration in the coming years.
The first meeting of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking countries was organized in Almaty in 2011. The foundation is dedicated to the economy and trade. The second summit on cooperation in education, science, and culture was held in Bishkek in 2012, and the issue of goods transportation was discussed in Gabala, Azerbaijan in 2013. In 2014, the IV Summit of the Turkic Council was held in Bodrum, Turkey. Here, Kazakhstan raised the issues of strengthening the Turkic Council and developing transport communication.
On September 11, 2015, the Fifth Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States was held in the city of Astana, dedicated to interaction in the information field and paving the way for the chairmanship of Kazakhstan. The sixth and seventh summits were held in the cities of Sholpan-Ata (Kyrgyzstan) and Baku, respectively.
Another initiative that further strengthened the cooperation of Turkic-speaking countries was adopted in 2021 in Turkey, during the VIII summit. At the main event, special emphasis was placed on the importance of joint action on current topics of the global agenda. A decision was made on a number of important issues related to the future of the organization. The name of the Turkic Council was changed to the "Organization of Turkic States."
During the meeting, the issue of determining new methods of cooperation with third parties and institutions, and the creation of the Turkish investment fund was raised. Also, the "Future of the Turkish World - 2040" program, which defines the medium and long-term goals and objectives of the organization, was approved. At the 9th summit in Samarkand, a specific decision was made regarding the creation of the Turki investment fund.
The last TSO summit in Kazakhstan was held in 2015. Therefore, it is organized for the first time in the territory of Kazakhstan in eight years. Moreover, during the period of President K.Tokayev, Kazakhstan chaired the organization for the first time. According to Mr. Ametbek, this fundamental meeting is important both for Kazakhstan and for President Tokayev. From this point of view, the symbolic value of the summit being called a jubilee meeting is very high.
“In the past, Kazakhstan has always taken new initiatives in the progress of Turkish cooperation. In particular, it was the side of Kazakhstan that proposed the establishment of the Turkic Council. Also, the strategic document "Future of the Turkic World 2040" was prepared at the initiative of Kazakh diplomacy. However, in recent years, Kazakhstan seems to have lost its previous activity in the space of the Turkic world. But this year's TSO Astana summit proved that Kazakhstan's foreign policy has not deviated from the proactive direction in the Turkic world. The holding of the summit under the slogan "TURKTIME" is like a sign of the beginning of a new period in the TSO,” says Mr. Ametbek.
It is known that this year, a terrible earthquake occurred in Turkey, and thousands of people died. The Turkic countries were not indifferent to the disaster in the neighboring country. On March 16, the leaders of the organization gathered in Ankara for an extraordinary summit of the Organization of Turkic States. Head of State K. Tokayev, who participated in the meeting, drew attention to the fact that the summit was held under the theme "Disaster and emergency management, humanitarian aid." Pointing to the increase in natural and man-made disasters in Shartarap, the President said that this situation has become one of the most pressing international issues.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized that Kazakhstan will not be left out of humanitarian measures in such a difficult period, drawing attention to the fact that Turkish countries should be able to act effectively in emergency situations. He also made a number of recommendations to strengthen relations between the secretariat of the organization and the member states.
"We must mobilize efforts to prevent natural disasters. The earthquake in Turkey showed the need to always be prepared for danger. Therefore, I propose to create a joint force of Emergency Situations institutions within the organization. It can be opened on the basis of the center for reducing the risk of emergency situations and catastrophic earthquakes in Almaty. This center was established in 2016 by the governments of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. I think it is better to give the joint force the status of Civil Defense Secretariat of the organization. It will coordinate aid efforts for disaster-stricken countries. International events are organized within this framework. In particular, training courses for lifeguards will be held," said the President.
Kazakhstan has been making efforts to systematically develop and strengthen friendly, neighborly, trusting relations with Turkic-speaking countries. One proof of that is the "New Synergy" economic program. In May 2012, the then Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, came to the capital on an official visit. A strategic cooperation council between Kazakhstan and Turkey was established. The above-mentioned program was also signed at that time.
In addition, the prospect of connecting the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway with the Turkish railway network, as well as the prospect of creating a Kazakhstan-Turkey industrial zone in the South Kazakhstan region, near the Western Europe-Western China railway, was discussed. By the way, we remember that during one of these visits, Mr. Erdoğan warmly expressed that "When we come to Kazakhstan, we feel like we are in the homeland of our ancestors."
Mr. Ametbek says from the point of view of international politics; it becomes clear that 2023 is the real time to start the Turkic era. First of all, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey. Therefore, Turkey is entering a new stage of its development. Azerbaijan, a sister country in the Caucasus, won the 2020 and this year's war, recaptured Karabakh, and restored its territorial integrity as a result of thirty years of selfless struggle. At the same time, the countries of the region are trying to open a new page of their history based on thirty years of experience with the slogans "New Kazakhstan" and "New Uzbekistan."
“It is clear that the importance of the Turkic world is increasing from the geopolitical and geoeconomic point of view. A merciless war is going on in Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Afghanistan, which is considered the heart of Asia, was not stable either. The Turkic world, located in the center of these conflict zones, has a high potential to become a region of stability and development. Cooperation between Turkic countries is also important for trade and transport between Asia and Europe. At the same time, we should mention that it is also important for the Economic Cooperation Organization (OECD) to receive the observer status of the TSO at the Astana summit. Because this organization, whose headquarters is located in Tehran, was founded in 1985 by Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan. In 1992, Central Asian countries became members of the organization. In other words, the presence of the OIC as an observer to the WTO means that the cooperation of the Turkic countries with Iran and Pakistan will increase. If the Turkic world opens its way to South Asia through Pakistan, it reaches the Persian Gulf through Iran. At the same time, Iran contributes to the increase of international transport in the east-west direction between Turkestan and Turkey,” says Mr. Ametbek.
Turkic's global image isn't merely a 'brand'; it embodies harmony, brotherhood, friendship, peace, stability, and tranquility. The centuries-old legacy of the Turkic civilization stands robust and rightfully claims this status. Historically, Turkics have been acknowledged as a force accountable for stability and ensuring the security of international trade and communication. The moment has arrived for Turkics to reclaim their historical mandate. The era of the Turkic legacy is upon us.