Speech by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan V.I. Norov at a press conference following the OTS Summit

(November 11, 2022, Samarkand)

Good afternoon, dear representatives of the media!

First of all, let me express gratitude to each of you for your attention to the summit of the Organization of Turkic States and the events dedicated to it.

Thanks to your publications, the positive image of our Organization is being strengthened, and the world community's interest in it is growing.

In recent days, Uzbekistan has been a platform for various events of the Organization of Turkic States, cordially received guests, official delegations to participate in ministerial and expert meetings, international forums and conferences.

The culmination of all these events was today's summit, chaired by the President of Uzbekistan, H.E. Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev, which was attended by the leaders of 6 participating countries and observers, the Secretary General of the OTS and the heads of affiliated structures under the Organization.

Welcoming the guests of the summit, the President of Uzbekistan expressed gratitude to his colleagues for supporting the initiative to declare the ancient and eternally young city of Samarkand the capital of the Turkic civilization.

Indeed, this decision was made for a reason, the city of Samarkand is the pride of all Turkic peoples.

Being the capital of the great Turkic dynasties, it made a huge contribution to the development of statehood, science and art of our peoples.

The meeting of the leaders of the countries of the Organization of Turkic States, held under the motto "New era of Turkic civilization: towards common development and prosperity", opened up new horizons and prospects for practical cooperation between the Turkic countries.

As the head of our state noted, one of the features of the current summit is that for the first time in our centuries-old history, the Turkic family in full force gathered at the same table as part of a renewed association.

A landmark event of the summit was the awarding of the Highest Order of the Turkic World to the Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan, respected Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, and the President of Turkey, respected Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Presenting these awards, the head of Uzbekistan stressed that they are a high assessment of the efforts of these two fraternal states to strengthen the unity of our countries and peoples.

Along with this, by unanimous decision of the parties, the Alisher Navoi International Prize established last year on the initiative of the Uzbek side for contribution to the unity of the Turkic world was (posthumously) awarded to the great Kyrgyz writer, statesman and public figure Chingiz Aitmatov - a unique personality who made an invaluable contribution in the dissemination of Turkic history and culture throughout the world.

Dear participants of the press conference,

During the summit, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan noted that “in the light of the events taking place around us, today's summit has a special, historical significance.

The Organization of Turkic States is entering a new, even more important stage in its development, it will have to solve many priority tasks of cooperation.”

In this context, the leader of our country put forward a number of specific proposals and practical initiatives on topical issues of multifaceted cooperation within the framework of the OTS.

First of all, the importance of strengthening the foundations of trade and economic relations by increasing mutual trade, developing a "green" economy, information technologies and transport communications was emphasized.

In order to implement these ideas, it was proposed to form Spaces for New Economic Opportunities under the auspices of the Organization, to hold the International Turkic Economic Forum, and to develop a Strategy for cooperation in the transport sector.

The President of Uzbekistan also stressed the importance of further strengthening cooperation in the agricultural field in order to ensure food security by concluding an agreement on the formation of effective mechanisms for the supply of food products in the space of the Organization.

Focusing on cooperation in the field of youth, it was proposed to hold the International Congress of Turkic Youth on Science and Innovation next year.

In addition, the head of our state called on his colleagues to carry out institutional reforms of the Organization, in particular, he put forward a proposal to create committees in the areas of security, trade, investment, transport, agriculture, energy, tourism, science and technology, health and others.

Dear friends,

According to the agenda of the summit, the leaders of our countries in a friendly and constructive atmosphere discussed the current state and prospects for further development of cooperation within the Organization, exchanged views on the regional and international situation.

The heads of state stressed that the rapid pace of events taking place in the world and changes in international relations dictate the need for constant adaptation