From Ajmal
Khan Yousafzai
ANKARA: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will travel to Samarkand, Uzbekistan to attend the 9th summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) and enhance relations, on Nov. 10-11, a statement by the presidency said Wednesday.
Türkiye will transfer the term presidency to Uzbekistan at the summit, which will focus on crucial resolutions, including the OTS’s vision document, which outlines the organization’s roadmap for the next 20 years, and future decisions.
The summit will also touch upon enhancing cooperation among member states.
Erdoğan is expected to address the summit session and will also hold bilateral talks with leaders of other member-states on the sidelines of the meeting.
The OTS, formerly called the Turkic Council or the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, is an international organization comprising prominent independent Turkic countries that work together to elevate relations and the union among themselves.
The OTS originally emerged as a summit between the heads of Turkic states in 1991 and eventually became an international council in 2009, holding over 10 summits so far.
The president is also expected to visit Indonesia, Qatar and Bahrain this month.
Speaking at a news conference following a cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara, Erdoğan said that he will visit Samarkand, Uzbekistan for a summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) on Thursday and Friday.
The OTS, formerly called the Turkic Council or the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, is an international organization comprising prominent independent Turkic countries that work together to elevate relations and the union among themselves.
Türkiye has prioritized the sovereignty, stability and welfare of Turkic states in Central Asia since the 1990s, Ambassador Mercan said while addressing the event.
The OTS originally emerged as a summit between the heads of Turkic states in 1991 and eventually became an international council in 2009, holding over 10 summits so far.
Erdoğan will then head to Bali, Indonesia the following Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 15-16, for a G20 Leaders’ Summit.
Chinese and U.S. presidents, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, respectively, are also expected to attend a G20 summit in Bali.
After the summit, he will visit the Gulf nation of Bahrain, and on Nov. 20, he will head to its neighbor Qatar, he added.
Last month, Türkiye and Qatar inked 11 new cooperation deals in the eighth meeting of the Supreme Strategic Committee in Istanbul.
Türkiye and Qatar established the Supreme Strategic Committee in 2014 as a mechanism for high-level dialogue and bilateral cooperation.
Ankara and Doha enjoy strong relations, particularly since the 2017 blockade of the Gulf country by Saudi Arabia and others.
The two countries have strengthened military and economic ties in recent years. The sixth meeting of the Türkiye-Qatar Supreme Strategic Committee was held in 2020 in the Turkish capital Ankara. Ten agreements were signed between the two countries in the presence of the two leaders. Within the framework of the Supreme Strategic Committee meetings, a total of 68 agreements and protocols were signed between the two countries previously.
Turkish-Qatari relations are also witnessing growing and continuous cooperation at various levels, with high coordination on many regional and international issues, including the Libyan crisis and Afghanistan. In addition to bilateral trade and diplomatic relations, the two countries played a pivotal role in supporting the legitimate Libyan government and defending Tripoli against putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar’s forces in a 14-month offensive. They also cooperated to reopen Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport after the Taliban took over following the government’s fall and the withdrawal of U.S. forces.
