# Organization of Turkic States

The Organization of Turkic States (OTS), formerly called the Turkic Council or the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, is an intergovernmental organization comprising all but one of the internationally recognized Turkic sovereign states: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan; while Hungary, Turkmenistan and Northern Cyprus are observers. Its overarching aim is promoting comprehensive cooperation among the Turkic peoples. First proposed by Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev in 2006, it was founded on 3 October 2009 in Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan. The General Secretariat is located in Turkey's Istanbul.
In addition to Turkmenistan, the organization has also admitted Hungary and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as observers, although the latter is only recognized by Turkey.
During the 8th summit in Istanbul in 2021, the organization was restructured and adopted its current name.

## History

The organization was established on 3 October 2009 as the Cooperation Council of the Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council), by the Nakhchivan Agreement signed among Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey. According to Halil Akıncı, the founding Secretary-General of the organization, the Turkic Council became the first voluntary alliance of Turkic states in history.
In 2012, the flag of the Turkic Council was adopted at its 2nd Summit, which took place in Bishkek on 23 August 2012 and officially raised on 12 October 2012. The flag combines the symbols of the four founding member states: the light blue color of the flag of Kazakhstan which also evokes the traditional Turkic color of turquoise, the sun of the flag of Kyrgyzstan, the star of the flag of Azerbaijan and the crescent of the Turkish flag.
On 30 April 2018, it was announced that Uzbekistan would join the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States and attend the upcoming summit of the organisation in Bishkek. It formally applied for membership on 12 September 2019.
Since late 2018, Hungary has been an observer and may request full membership. Turkmenistan received observer status in 2021.
In November 2021, the organization was renamed the Organization of Turkic States.
The member states' increased focus on mutual security and strategic alignment marks a significant shift in regional dynamics, positioning the OTS as a central player in shaping the security architecture of the Turkic world.
Of great importance is the comprehensive structure of the Union of Municipalities of the Turkic World, in which local governments from 30 countries and regions are represented. 10 June 2022 6th Congress of the Union of Municipalities of the Turkic World.
In 2022, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was admitted to the organisation as an observer member.
In September 2024 it was reported that the Commission on the Common Alphabet of the Turkic World, which is an arm of the OTS, had agreed on a common alphabet of 34 letters based on the Latin alphabet in an effort to transition away from the Cyrillic which had been imposed when under Soviet rule. TURKPA member Professor Nizami Jafarov of Baku State University made the announcement. The project for a common Turkic alphabet based on Latin was first proposed in 1991 after the dissolution of the USSR.

## Purpose

Nominally, the Preamble of the Nakhchivan Agreement reaffirms the will of Member States to adhere to the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, and defines the main objective of the Organization of Turkic States as further deepening comprehensive cooperation among Turkic Speaking States, as well as making joint contributions to peace and stability in the region and in the world. Member States have nominally confirmed their commitment to democratic values, human rights, the rule of law, and principles of good governance.
The Nakhchivan Agreement sets out the main purposes and tasks of the Organization as follows:
* Strengthening mutual confidence and friendship among the Parties;
* Developing common positions on foreign policy issues;
* Coordinating actions to combat international terrorism, separatism, extremism and cross-border crimes;
* Promoting effective regional and bilateral cooperation in all areas of common interest;
* Creating favorable conditions for trade and investment;
* Aiming for comprehensive and balanced economic growth, social and cultural development;
* Expanding interaction in the fields of science, technology, education, health, culture, sports and tourism;
* Encouraging interaction of mass media and other means of communication;
* Strengthening cooperation and integration between member states;
* Promoting exchange of relevant legal information and enhancing legal cooperation.

## Structure and operation

Main organs of the Organization of Turkic States include:
* Council of Heads of State
* Council of Foreign Ministers
* Senior Officials Committee
* Council of Elders (Aksakals)
* The Secretariat
The main decision-making and governing body of the Organization of Turkic States is the Council of Heads of State, which is presided over by the President whose country holds the chairmanship. The chairmanship rotates on an annual basis. All activities of the Organization of Turkic States are coordinated and monitored by its Secretariat, which is located in Istanbul in accordance with the Nakhchivan Agreement. Presidents meet once a year in a previously determined Turkic city. Senior officials, Aksakals, as well as other Ministers and government officials, all meet on a regular basis.

### Affiliated bodies and organizations

OTS functions as an umbrella for organization like:
* the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TURKPA) (administrative capital in Baku)
* the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY) (administrative capital in Ankara)
* the Turkic Academy (administrative capital in Astana)
* Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation (administrative capital in Baku)
* Center of Nomadic Civilizations (administrative capital in Bishkek)
* Turkic Business Council (administrative capital in Istanbul)

### International cooperation

OTS is an observer at the Economic Cooperation Organization and has also applied for an observer status at the UN and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Besides, OTS maintains close cooperative relations with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia.

## Projects

Since its founding agreement defines comprehensive cooperation among Turkic states as the organization's main objective and raison d'être, the Organization of Turkic States is working on a variety of projects. The projects are grouped under six cooperation processes, which are: economy, culture, education, transport, customs, and diaspora. Examples of the projects include establishing the Turkic University Union and writing a common history textbook. The Organization of Turkic States also works on ways to boost economic development in underdeveloped regions of Member States. The Secretariat brings together Economy Ministers, Education Ministers, Transport Ministers, Heads of Customs Administrations, and other senior officials from different ministries and agencies in order to work on ways to promote cooperation in relevant spheres. Prior to being brought before ministers and heads of administrations, projects and issues of cooperation are elaborated by working groups. One recently launched project is the establishment of a mechanism for closer cooperation among Turkic diasporas all over the world.

### Joint investment fund

In November 2020, Kyrgyz Minister of Foreign Affairs Ruslan Kazakbaev pointed that Organization of Turkic States members have to strengthen their economic relations, they have to establish a joint investment fund and build its center on Kyrgyzstan on his meeting with Turkish Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. Baghdad Amreyev visited Minister of Treasury and Finance of Turkey Lütfi Elvan and sides talked about establishment of Joint Investment Fund. In September 2021, on meeting of Turkic ministers responsible for the economy, sides negotiated about a Turkic Joint Investment Fund feasibility work and agreement to establish the fund.

### Common Alphabet

In September 2022, on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Language Festival, the Organization of Turkic States decided to establish a "Common Alphabet Commission" within the body of OTS for a unified alphabet of the Turkic world. During the event, scientists from the Turkic states gave information about the alphabets and historical processes used in their own countries, and thus it was emphasized that the transition processes to the common alphabet should be accelerated, and the application should be widespread. The commission, which will hold its first meeting in Kyrgyzstan, will observe the work of the common alphabet and report to the Council of Elders.

### Simplified Customs Corridor

On 11 November 2022, in the city of Samarkand, the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States signed an agreement "On the establishment of simplified customs corridor". Azerbaijan was the first member country to enact the agreement, in May 2023 the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a law creating the simplified customs corridor.

## Summits

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the newly independent Turkic States of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as well as Turkey organized Summits of the Heads of Turkic Speaking States, the first of which took place in 1992 in Ankara. With the establishment of Turkic Council, at the 10th Summit it was decided to rename the top-level meetings to Turkic Council Summits.
Turkic Council Summit is the highlight of the year whereby Heads of State evaluate outcomes of the past period and set goals for the next year. The First Summit took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 20–21 October 2011 and focused primarily on economic cooperation. The Second Summit was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on 22–23 August 2012 and concentrated on educational, scientific, and cultural cooperation. The Third Summit took place on 15–16 August 2013 in Qabala, Azerbaijan with a theme of transport and connectivity.
On 15 October 2019, the Seventh Turkic Council Summit was organized in Baku with the participation of Presidents of member states Ilham Aliyev, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as well as Purli Agamyradov as a guest, Viktor Orban as an observer and heads of Turkic cooperation institutions. The participants celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Nakhchivan Agreement on the establishment of the Turkic Council in addition to Uzbekistan's joining the organization as a full-fledged member. The title of Honorary Chairman of the Turkic Council was given to the former President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. In the conclusion of the Summit, the Heads of States signed the Baku Declaration. Besides, the presidency in the Council officially passed to Azerbaijan.

### Extraordinary Summit

The Extraordinary Summit of the Turkic Council focused on the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted through videoconferencing by the initiative of the chairman of the organization Ilham Aliyev on 10 April 2020. The conference titled "Cooperation and solidarity in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic" was held with the participation of the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus along with the head of states of the member countries. Participants discussed the measures taken at the national level to fight against the coronavirus epidemic, to improve multilateral cooperation in the field of healthcare, and to undertake the common challenges caused by the outbreak of COVID-19. Exchanging views on the ways of overcoming negative effects of coronavirus on the national and global economies, they touched upon trade relations and continuous transportation, and they entrusted the Ministries of Commerce and Transport of the member States with reviewing the process via videoconferencing and with presenting practical solutions for the free flow of goods among Turkic Council states across the Trans-Caspian Corridor. An 18-point list of mutual priorities of all member nations was outlined in the Baku Declaration.

## Members
### Current

| Country | Accession | Population (2021) | Area (km$^2$) | GDP (nominal) | GDP (nominal) | GDP (PPP) | GDP (PPP) |
| Country | Accession | Population (2021) | Area (km$^2$) | (USD) | Per capita ($) | (Int$) | Per capita (Int$) |
| Azerbaijan | Founder | 10,312,992 | 86,600 | 78,721 million (2022) | 7,737 (2022) | 180,754 million (2022) | 17,764 (2022) |
| Kazakhstan | Founder | 19,196,465 | 2,724,900 | 220,623 million (2022) | 11,244 (2022) | 543,474 million (2021) | 28,600 (2021) |
| Kyrgyzstan | Founder | 6,527,743 | 199,900 | 10,931 million (2022) | 1,607 (2022) | 35,398 million (2021) | 5,288 (2021) |
| Turkey | Founder | 85,279,553 (2023) | 783,562 | $1.344 trillion (2024) | $15,666 (2024) | $3.457 trillion (2024) | $40,283 (2024) |
| Uzbekistan | 2019 | 34,081,449 | 447,400 | 80,392 million (2022) | 2,255 (2022) | 296,689 million (2021) | 8,497 (2021) |
| Organization of Turkic States | Organization of Turkic States | 154,894,053 | 4,242,362 | 1,594,537 | 10,300 | 5,074,665 | 32,760 |

### Observers

| Country | Accession | Population (2021) | Area (km$^2$) | GDP (nominal) | GDP (nominal) | GDP (PPP) | GDP (PPP) |
| Country | Accession | Population (2021) | Area (km$^2$) | (USD million) | Per capita ($) | (Int$) | Per capita (Int$) |
| Hungary | 2018 | 9,709,786 | 93,030 | 139,135 million (2017) | 14,278 (2017) | 281,880 million (2017) | 28,799 (2017) |
| Turkmenistan | 2021 | 6,341,855 | 491,210 | 45,611 million (2020) | 7,297 (2020) | 96,228 million (2019) | 16,194 (2019) |
| Northern Cyprus | 2022 | 382,836 | 3,355 | 4,234 million (2018) | 14,648 (2022) | | |
| Economic Cooperation Organization | 2023 | | | | | | |

#### Possible future members and observers

In 2020, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Ceppar, who is of Crimean Tatar descent, stated Ukraine wanted to be an observer. Crimea is the homeland of the Crimean Tatars.
Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu announced that Turkmenistan, currently an observer state, could become a full member during the 2022 Organization of Turkic States summit.

#### Former applicants

On 3 May 2021, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan officially applied for observer status. But with the Taliban overthrowing the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan with its Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in August that year, the status of its application for observer status is uncertain.

## Events

| # | Date | Location | Location | Notes | Participation | Participation | Participation | Participation | Participation | Participation | Participation | Participation |
| Turkic Speaking States Summits | Turkic Speaking States Summits | Turkic Speaking States Summits | Turkic Speaking States Summits | Turkic Speaking States Summits | | | | | | | | |
| I | 30 October 1992 | Turkey | Ankara | First Turkic Speaking States Summit | H | H | H | H | H | H | — | — |
| — | 12 July 1993 | Kazakhstan | Almaty | the Almaty Agreement for founding TURKSOY | O | O | O | O | O | O | — | — |
| II | 18 October 1994 | Turkey | Istanbul | Second Turkic Speaking States Summit | H | H | H | H | H | H | — | — |
| III | 28 August 1995 | Kyrgyzstan | Bishkek | Third Turkic Speaking States Summit | H | H | H | H | H | H | — | — |
| IV | 21 October 1996 | Uzbekistan | Tashkent | Fourth Turkic Speaking States Summit | H | H | H | H | H | H | — | — |
| V | 9 June 1998 | Kazakhstan | Astana | Fifth Turkic Speaking States Summit | H | H | H | H | H | H | — | — |
| VI | 8 April 2000 | Azerbaijan | Baku | Sixth Turkic Speaking States Summit | H | H | H | H | H | H | — | — |
| VII | 26 April 2001 | Turkey | Istanbul | Seventh Turkic Speaking States Summit | H | H | H | H | H | O | — | — |
| VIII | 17 November 2006 | Turkey | Antalya | Eighth Turkic Speaking States Summit | H | H | H | H | O | | — | — |
| — | 21 November 2008 | Turkey | Istanbul | the Istanbul Agreement for founding TURKPA | O | O | O | O | | | — | — |
| IX | 3 October 2009 | Azerbaijan | Nakhchivan | Ninth Turkic Speaking States Summit, the Nakhchivan Agreement for founding the Turkic Council | H | H | H | H | O | | — | — |
| X | 15 September 2010 | Turkey | Istanbul | Tenth Turkic Speaking States Summit (The end of Non-Corporate Summits of Turkic-Speaking Countries State) | H | H | H | H | H | | — | — |
| Turkic Council Summits |||||||||||||
| I | 21 October 2011 | Kazakhstan | Almaty | First Turkic Council Summit, Cooperation in Economic Area and Trade Area | H | H | H | O | — | — | — | — |
| II | 23 August 2012 | Kyrgyzstan | Bishkek | Second Turkic Council Summit, Cooperation in Education, Science and Culture | H | H | H | H | — | — | — | — |
| III | 16 August 2013 | Azerbaijan | Qabala | Third Turkic Council Summit, Cooperation in Transportation | H | H | H | H | — | — | — | — |
| IV | 5 June 2014 | Turkey | Bodrum | Fourth Turkic Council Summit, Cooperation in Tourism | H | H | H | H | H | — | — | — |
| — | 24 December 2014 | Ukraine | Kyiv | Opening of the first Turkic Council Regional Diaspora Center | O | O | O | O | — | — | — | — |
| V | 11 September 2015 | Kazakhstan | Astana | Fifth Turkic Council Summit, Cooperation in Media and Information | H | H | H | O | O | — | — | — |
| VI | 2 September 2018 | Kyrgyzstan | Cholpon Ata | Sixth Turkic Council Summit | H | H | H | H | — | H | H | — |
| VII | 15 October 2019 | Azerbaijan | Baku | Seventh Turkic Council Summit | H | H | H | H | O | H | H | — |
| — | 10 April 2020 | Teleconference | Teleconference | Extraordinary Video Summit | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | — |
| — | 31 March 2021 | Teleconference | Teleconference | Informal Video Summit | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | — |
| VIII | 12 November 2021 | Turkey | Istanbul | Eighth Turkic Council Summit, organization status granted. | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | — |
| Organization of Turkic States Summits |||||||||||||
| IX | 11 November 2022 | Uzbekistan | Samarkand | First Organization of Turkic States Summit | H | H | H | H | O | H | H | — |
| — | 16 March 2023 | Turkey | Ankara | Extraordinary Summit | H | H | H | H | O | H | H | H |
| X | 3 November 2023 | Kazakhstan | Astana | Tenth OTS summit | H | H | H | H | O | H | H | |
| — | 6 July 2024 | Azerbaijan | Shusha | Informal summit | H | H | H | O | | H | H | H |
| XI | 6 November 2024 | Kyrgyzstan | Bishkek | Eleventh OTS summit | H | H | H | H | O | H | H | H |
| — | 2025 | Hungary | | Informal summit |
| XII | 2025 | Azerbaijan | | Twelfth OTS summit |

## List of secretaries-general

| No. | Name | Country of origin | Took office | Left office |
| 1 | Halil Akıncı | Turkey | 15 September 2010 | 16 September 2014 |
| 2 | Ramil Hasan | Azerbaijan | 16 September 2014 | 3 September 2018 |
| 3 | Baghdad Amreyev | Kazakhstan | 3 September 2018 | 11 November 2022 |
| 4 | Kubanychbek Omuraliev | Kyrgyzstan | 11 November 2022 | incumbent |

## List of chairmen

According to article 8 of the Nakhchivan Agreement, the state that hosts the regular summit, will assume the chairmanship until next meeting.
| No. | Name | Country of origin | Took office | Left office |
| 1 | Nursultan Nazarbayev | Kazakhstan | 21 October 2011 | 23 August 2012 |
| 2 | Almazbek Atambayev | Kyrgyzstan | 23 August 2012 | 16 August 2013 |
| 3 | Ilham Aliyev | Azerbaijan | 16 August 2013 | 5 June 2014 |
| 4 | Abdullah Gül | Turkey | 5 June 2014 | 28 August 2014 |
| 5 | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan | Turkey | 28 August 2014 | 11 September 2015 |
| (1) | Nursultan Nazarbayev | Kazakhstan | 11 September 2015 | 3 September 2018 |
| 6 | Sooronbay Jeenbekov | Kyrgyzstan | 3 September 2018 | 15 October 2019 |
| (3) | Ilham Aliyev | Azerbaijan | 15 October 2019 | 12 November 2021 |
| (5) | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan | Turkey | 12 November 2021 | 11 November 2022 |
| 7 | Shavkat Mirziyoyev | Uzbekistan | 11 November 2022 | 3 November 2023 |
| 8 | Kassym-Jomart Tokayev | Kazakhstan | 3 November 2023 | 6 November 2024 |
| 9 | Sadyr Japarov | Kyrgyzstan | 6 November 2024 | incumbent |

## Leaders of member states

* Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev President of Azerbaijan
* Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev President of Kazakhstan
* Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov President of Kyrgyzstan
* Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan President of Turkey
* Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev President of Uzbekistan