WNAM: Uzbekistan joined the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) five years ago. During this time, mutually beneficial cooperation has been established in over 30 essential areas. Initiatives are being put forward to improve OTS’s future activities, which have become one of the centers of global economic growth. Uzbekistan and its political and economic role in the structure also contribute to these changes.
The OTS’s Informal Summit on “Building a Sustainable Future through Transport Connectivity and Climate Action”, held on July 6 in Shusha, is of great importance to the development of the OTS and its member countries. The participants exchanged views on the state and prospects of multifaceted cooperation and discussed current issues.
In his speech, the Head of our state emphasized the symbolism of holding the meeting in Shusha, one of the cultural capitals of the Turkic world, and highly appreciated the enormous construction and landscaping work being carried out in Karabakh region under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that the summit is taking place in the context of growing global threats and challenges and an increasingly intensifying crisis of mutual trust. In such a difficult situation, it is necessary to develop a common approach to bring relations between countries to a qualitatively new level.
The President of Uzbekistan put forward initiatives aimed at developing cooperation within the framework of the OTS. It is essential that the volume of cargo transportation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor is constantly growing. The introduction of optimal tariffs for business will undoubtedly significantly increase the competitiveness and attractiveness of this corridor. An initiative has been put forward to create a Council of Railway Administrations with its directorate in Tashkent.
The issue of jointly combating climate change, considered one of the most important for all countries, was discussed. The territory of the OTS is regarded as one of the regions suffering the most severe damage from climate change. It was noted that a systematic approach is needed to find a joint solution to this problem. The President of Uzbekistan proposed at the level of ministers of the OTS member countries to create a Turkic Environmental Council with headquarters in Nukus, a large city in the Aral Sea region that suffered the most from the environmental disaster.
The Leader of Uzbekistan proposed adopting the concept of the Turkic Movement towards green energy and putting forward initiatives to maintain stability in the regions where Turkic peoples live.
Such regular dialogues between the leaders of the OTS member countries strengthen mutual trust, friendship, and good neighborliness. They are important for ensuring peace in the region and beyond, adopting common positions on foreign policy issues, and developing effective regional and bilateral cooperation in all areas related to common goals.
