WNAM MONITORING: Kazakh Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev addressed the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) held in Shusha, Karabakh region, Azerbaijan.
In his speech, Tokayev stressed that the theme of the summit ‘Building a sustainable future through transport, communication and climate activity’ meets the interests of all the states. According to him, today’s summit is aimed at achieving the key priorities such as increasing the well-being of the Turkic peoples, defining new areas of development as well as enhancing fraternal ties and ensuring stability in the region.
As the Kazakh leader said, Kazakhstan makes its contribution to increase the efficiency of the organization during its current OTS presidency.
We’re to do our utmost to strengthen the international status of the organization. Under the theme TURKTIME!, our countries are boosting their interaction. So far, around 40 events have been held. New mechanisms for cooperation between our countries in fields such as social policy, law enforcement bodies’ activity, education, technology, innovation and industry have been developed. In September, the Kazakh capital is to host the 5th World Nomad Games, thus contributing to the rich Turkic culture. Taking the opportunity, I’d like to invite athletes from fraternal countries to take part in this spectacular event, said the Head of State.
Tokayev went on to say that ensuring global security and stability is one of the priorities of foreign policy of Kazakhstan. According to him, the Turkic nations should always stand together.
Our strength is in unity. There is the only effective way to resolve any conflicts and disputes, which is constructive dialogue. That’s why our country focuses on the mediation principle within its presidency of the organization. In this context, I’d like to note the positive trends in establishing peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Kazakhstan has always been committed to peacekeeping efforts. Our country is always ready to serve as a platform for peaceful negotiations between Baku and Yerevan, stated Tokayev.
The Kazakh leader pointed out the necessity to further strengthen the status of the organization and put forward his plans and priority areas of its activity.
It’s important to expand the trade turnover and cargo transportation between the OTS members and other countries. It’s essential to fully utilize the potential of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, which observes the double increase in container transportation compared with 2023. Our country has launched the multimodal digital platform Digital Trade Corridor to reduce the delivery time. Kazakhstan is in close cooperation with Azerbaijan in this matter. As of today, integration of two-sided railway administrations has been completed, leading to a 65% rise in cargo transportation via the Middle Corridor, reaching almost three million tons. Moreover, the maritime hub in Aktau port allows to increase the number of shipping containers to up to 300 thousand. The port handles ships of the Caspian basin and Central Asian countries, said the Head of State.
The President also stressed that the countries need to preserve their distinctive civilization and national languages, suggesting to create the ‘Big language Turkic model’ with the use of AI.
According to Tokayev, climate change management is of great importance.
We’re willing to boost cooperation with the Turkic world on climate matters. This year, our country is to take an active part in the COP29 in Azerbaijan. Kazakhstan has a responsible attitude to its climate change commitments. In 2026, our country is to host the UN Regional Climate Summit, said the Kazakh President.
In this context, Tokayev stressed the importance of joining efforts to address the environmental problems facing the Caspian and Aral Seas.
In conclusion, the Kazakh leader noted that today’s summit allowed to comprehensively discuss the important matters, increasing the status of the Turkic world on the global stage as well as strengthening the ties between the fraternal nations.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Zhaparov, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban, Vice President of the Republic of Türkiye Cevdet Yilmaz, President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Ersin Tatar, Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States Kubanychbek Omuraliev are attending the summit.
Established under the Nakhchivan deal as of October 3, 2009, at the initiative of Kazakhstan, the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) includes Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan; while Hungary, Turkmenistan and Northern Cyprus are observers. The OTS Secretariat is located in Istanbul, Türkiye.
