The Council of Elders of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), convened its 13th meeting on 8-9 August 2022 in Bishkek.
The meeting of Council of Elders, which was hosted by the Elder of Kyrgyzstan H.E. Medetkhan Sherimkulov, Former Speaker of the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic, and chaired by H.E. Binali Yıldırım, Chairman of the Council of Elders, MP and former Speaker of Grand National Assembly and Prime Minister of the Republic of Türkiye, was attended by H.E. Hasan Hasanov, Former Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, H.E. Ikram Adyrbek, Member of the Council of Senators of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Member of Public Council of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, H.E. Bakhtiyor Sayfullayev, Chairman of the Senate Committee of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Youth, Culture and Sport, and Mr. Rejep Bazarov, Vice-President of the Humanitarian Association of the World Turkmens, Executive Director of Charitable Foundation named after Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for Assisting Children in need of Guardianship. Secretary General of the OTS, H.E. Baghdad Amreyev participated in the meeting.
The Council of Elders had discussions on various topics including recent political, economic and social developments in the region and the world. Given the circumstances, they asserted the increasing significance of bolstering the political, economic, security and defense industry cooperation between the Member and Observer States of the OTS.
The Elders stated that the common history of the Turkic World should be globally promoted by common scientific cooperation, academic publications and international conferences. The Council expressed their gratification with the role of the Secretary General and Secretariat in mainstreaming the cooperation and coordination among the OTS Member and Observer States.
Addressing the meeting Secretary General of the OTS H.E. Baghdad Amreyev shared with the Council of Elders the ongoing preparations, the prospective agenda and important documents of the upcoming 9th Summit of the OTS. B.Amreyev stated the importance of the Council in contributing to the various fields of cooperation among the Member and Observer States.
The Members of the Council were informed also about the realization of their recommendations put forth in their last meeting held in Istanbul in February 2022.
Chairman of the Council of Elders H.E. Binali Yıldırım, noted that the upcoming Summit will mark another historic milestone as the Istanbul Summit of last year with critical decisons of the Heads of States to make headway to the already increasing cooperation among the Member and Observer States at a time when the world and our region are facing various challenges. Moreover, he emphasized the economic and transport cooperation in the Turkic World and brought the increasing importance of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (Middle Corridor) for the Member States of the OTS to the attention of the Council. Furthermore, H.E. Yıldırım informed the Elders about the preparations and organization of the upcoming 4th World Nomad Games to be staged in İznik, Bursa of Türkiye on 29 September-2 October.
The Elder of Kyrgyzstan H.E. Medetkhan Sherimkulov underscored the significance of the gathering of the Council of Elders as critical in advance of the upcoming 9th Summit of the OTS where Elders had the opportunity to discuss the Agenda and express recommendations. Making reference to the systemic changes in the region and ensuing economic challenges, H.E. Sherimkulov stressed the timely introduction of Turkic Investment Fund in operation to boost economic and trade cooperation among the Turkic States by providing credits to the private sector for investments and business interactions.
Members of the Council of Elders and the Secretary General were received by the President of Kyrgyz Republic H.E. Sadyr Japarov on 8 August 2022.
