Distinguished Ağsaqqal,

Dear Ministers, 

Mr. Secretary General, 

Ladies and gentleman,

At the outset, we extend our deep condolences due to the human losses as a result of tragic explosion that took place in the coal mine in Bartin city of brotherly Türkiye. May Allah rest their souls in peace. We wish speedy recovery to all injured. 

I am delighted to participate at the extraordinary meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Turkic States. I convey my gratitude to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, to my brother Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, for his hospitality and for hosting the event at such a high level. I am also pleased that we are gathered again in this beautiful city of Istanbul.

I specially thank the Republic of Türkiye for very effective chairmanship at our Organization. The period of Turkiye’s chairmanship has been rich with numerous events and activities, which contribute to the development of our cooperation within the Organization. 

I believe that our discussions today will be instrumental in terms of preparation of the next Summit to be held on November 11, 2022, in Uzbekistan. The fact that brotherly Uzbekistan will for the first time host the Summit since joining our Organization already speaks of the importance of this Summit. Furthermore, we are sure that the next Summit will be an important milestone in further strengthening of the Organization. 

During the Summit, a number of important documents including the Strategic Roadmap of the Organization of Turkic States for 2022-2026, Rules of Procedure of the Organization and other documents will be adopted. I hope that our experts will finalize these documents ahead of the Summit. In this regard, I would like to express my gratitude to all member and observer states for their constructive cooperation, as well as Mr. Bagdat Amreyev Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), and the staff of the Secretariat for their effective work in a tight schedule.

We attach special attention to the adoption of the Strategic Road Map of the Organization of Turkic States for 2022-2026. We are of the belief that this document will be concise and target-oriented in order to serve its purpose.

Besides that a number of changes in the staff of the Secretariat are also on our agenda. Azerbaijan consistently supports the strengthening of the Secretariat and with this understanding we have supported all the candidates presented by the member and observer states. At the same time, Azerbaijan has also nominated its candidates for the positions of the President of the Turkic Academy and the Deputy Secretary General of the Organization of the Turkic States. We count on your support in this regard.

In the meantime, as we are heading towards our next Summit, we are pleased to observe continuous intensification of cooperation within the Organization, as well as intensified dialogue between the individual member states. In this context, the recent visits of H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev to Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have served for yet another time to demonstrate the special character of our relations anchored in shared vision and mutual interests. 

I would like to specifically highlight the importance we attach to the decision on electing Shusha as the cultural capital of the Turkic world for the year of 2023. It is gratifying that the Organization actively participates in the promotion of the city of Shusha and several events are being held in Shusha. 

In this regard, the Shusha Turkic Business Forum held on 16 September 2022 proved to be extremely useful with a view to identifying the specific directions through which, the Organization can support the development of the liberated Karabakh region of Azerbaijan after the devastating occupation. 

In a similar vein, the meeting of the official think tanks of the Organization of the Turkic States member and observer states held in Shusha in July has also provided excellent platform for in depth deliberations aimed at developing cooperation and partnership among the Turkic States. 

Dear Colleagues, 

Given the swiftly changing developments in our vast geography and increased importance of our region, our joint activities should be further intensified in order to effectively tackle these challenges on one hand, and better utilize new opportunities to the benefit of our nations and States, on the other. The Organization of Turkic States is a very important platform to achieve these goals.

Azerbaijan supports the activities of the Organization of Turkic States and will continue to make efforts to further strengthen the relations between our brotherly nations under the umbrella of the Organization. In this regard, further intensification of activities by the related and affiliated Turkic Organizations and the Coordination Committee are of crucial importance.

I believe that our friendly and brotherly countries will continue to work shoulder to shoulder to achieve all the goals and will continue to contribute to the bright future of the Turkic World. 

Once again, I would like to extend my appreciation to the Turkish side, especially my brother Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, for organizing this extraordinary meeting at such a high level and looking forward to meet all of you next month in brotherly Uzbekistan. 

Thank you for your attention.