Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz has hailed the growing importance of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) amid rapidly shifting regional and global dynamics.
“The progress achieved by the OTS in recent years is extremely valuable,” Yılmaz said, adding that peace in the South Caucasus would enhance connectivity between Türkiye and fellow Turkic states.
Yılmaz made the remarks after attending a meeting of OTS prime ministers and vice presidents, which convened on Thursday in Baku.
Originally founded in 2009 as the Turkic Council and renamed in 2021, the OTS is an intergovernmental body that brings together Turkic-speaking countries to enhance political, economic and cultural cooperation.
Alongside Türkiye, core OTS members include Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, while Hungary, Turkmenistan and Northern Cyprus hold observer status.
Headquartered in Istanbul, the organisation seeks to promote regional connectivity, trade integration and coordination on foreign policy among member states.
Speaking in Baku, Yılmaz highlighted the strong economic performance of the organisation’s core members.
“While global growth stood at around 3 per cent last year, OTS member countries recorded growth of approximately 6 per cent,” he said.
“They are advancing at nearly double the global rate, with rising national incomes,” he added.
According to the vice president, the OTS aims to boost intra-regional trade, which currently accounts for only 6 per cent of total exports among member states.
He stressed the need to raise this figure by signing inter-bloc trade agreements, streamlining customs procedures and improving transport links.
Addressing the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Yılmaz reiterated Türkiye’s determination to avoid being drawn into the crisis.
“The conflict between Iran, Israel and the U.S. threatens the peace and stability of a broad region, including areas linked to the Turkic states,” he said.
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People travelling between Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Azerbaijan could soon be able to pay for purchases using their usual banking apps. Central banks from the five countries are working on linking their national payment systems.
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