Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) H.E. Ambassador Kubanychbek Omuraliev delivered a statement at the Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Contact Group in response to COVID-19 held on 2 March 2023 in Baku.
The Secretary General briefed the Summit participants on the OTS’s growing cooperation with the UN, its specialized agencies, NAM, as well as with other regional and international organizations and actors. In this regard, he underscored that the OTS was the first international organization across the globe to hold a summit on the pandemic at the level of heads of state; developed strong ties with WHO from the first days of the pandemic, signed an MOU and jointly implementing the capacity building programs in the Member States.
The Secretary General underlined that the OTS countries also donated more than 600 thousand vaccines to the NAM member countries in Africa, as part of the contribution to the global solidarity.
He also touched upon the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye, and underscored that the OTS was one of the first responders to the disaster, quickly coordinating the Member States to join rescue operations led by Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD). The Secretary General Omuraliyev underlined that the OTS countries have shown unwavering solidarity with the people and the Government of Türkiye since the first day of the earthquake sending around 2000 rescuers with necessary equipment and medical personnel to save lives; nine field hospitals were established, donation campaigns were launched; and thousands of tons of humanitarian aid, including medicines and textile products were provided.
The Secretary General further informed that considering the current circumstances and emergencies occurring in the region and need for sustainable urban development, on 27 February the OTS signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UN-Habitat to assist its member countries in their earthquake recovery efforts by providing technical assistance, mobilizing resources, and supporting community-led recovery and capacity-building initiatives.
K.Omuraliyev added that the OTS will hold its next Extraordinary Summit in Ankara on 16 March 2023 on the theme of “Disaster-Emergency Management and Humanitarian Assistance” to discuss the situation in the disaster-affected regions of Türkiye and to take important decisions to contribute at the highest level to the reconstruction efforts of Türkiye.
The Secretary General reiterated the readiness of the OTS to contribute to the efforts of the global community in tackling shared challenges, reaffirmed willingness to cooperate with the NAM and expressed support to the NAM initiative on establishing UN High-Level Panel on post-COVID-19 Global Recovery, with a task of working out recommendations for the post-pandemic recovery.
Secretary General Omuraliyev also held meetings with the high-level officials of the NAM Member States and heads of international organizations on the margins of the Summit.
