Secretariat of OTS organized an online meeting for discussing the draft concepts on establishing the “Research Center on Trade Cooperation within OTS” and “Engineering and Technology Centers on  the basis of specialized organizations of OTS Member States” on 24 May 2023. 
The initiatives on the establishment were proposed by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, H.E. Shavkat Mirziyoyev during the OTS Summit in 2021 in Istanbul. 
At the meeting the experts of the Member States exchanged their views and proposals on both documents. The Parties agreed to finalize and approve the documents during the upcoming meeting of the Ministers in charge of Ecnomy of the OTS scheduled in the second half of 2023 and carry out activities related with the Reserach Centers. 
These pilot projects will contribute to substantial identification of the economic (trade and investment) potential and accelerating technology transformation in the OTS region by conducting in-depth research and analysis, and elaborating specific proposals for the development of these fields.