Integration within the Turkic world has entered a new phase in recent years. Relations based on shared historical and cultural ties now also encompass strategic areas such as security, energy, transport, investment, and political coordination. Azerbaijan, meanwhile, serves as one of the active and reliable platforms within the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in this process.
While receiving security officials of OTS member states on September 17, President Ilham Aliyev stated that regular meetings held in various areas within the organization demonstrate active interaction among the Turkic states.
The head of state emphasized that he had received the religious leaders of OTS member states a few days earlier and that the secretaries of the organization's security councils had subsequently gathered in Baku for their fifth meeting: "Just a couple of days ago, I received religious leaders representing our countries. Today, the secretaries of the security councils of the organization have gathered in Baku for the 5th meeting of their council. All of this is evidence of active interaction within our organization and demonstrates that the Organization of Turkic States is an entity with very high international standing."
The holding of high-level meetings in Baku on different areas, such as religious and spiritual affairs and security, within a short period demonstrates Azerbaijan's role as one of the key platforms for political dialogue and coordination within the OTS. The organization's agenda is no longer limited solely to shared historical and cultural ties.
The head of state expressed this in his remarks as follows: "The issues discussed in various formats encompass international affairs, international security, multiculturalism, trade, transport, and humanitarian cooperation as a whole."
One of the strategic objectives of the OTS is to further increase the organization's influence in the international arena.
President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the member states share a common position on this issue: "The overall sentiment among the leaders of the member states is specifically aimed at strengthening the role and position of the OTS on the international stage. All the necessary capabilities are there for this. The potential of our countries is quite substantial and continues to grow."
One of the ways to achieve this goal is to intensify political contacts within the OTS. Alongside the regular holding of summits, the establishment of an informal summit format at Azerbaijan's initiative and the holding of the first such meeting in Shusha serve as examples of this.
The President clearly explained the reason for this: "On Azerbaijan's initiative, we have recently begun holding informal summits as well, because we felt that meeting once a year at the head-of-state level in this format was not enough. Although, as I said, each of our countries has a fairly active bilateral agenda with fellow member states, we gather together only once a year, and we considered that insufficient. Our colleagues supported this, and the first informal summit was held in Shusha, followed by others in other states."
Azerbaijan's policy toward the OTS is based not only on a multilateral format but also on deepening bilateral allied relations with member states. The alliance documents signed with Türkiye, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan form the political and legal basis for this.
President Ilham Aliyev particularly emphasized that Azerbaijan's policy in this regard is a fundamental foreign policy choice: "Our country’s bilateral agenda is primarily focused on the Turkic world. This is our main foreign policy priority, as I have repeatedly stated in my public speeches. I have also said that the Turkic world is our family, and we have no other family."
Another factor increasing Azerbaijan's importance within the OTS is its geographical location and energy and transport infrastructure. Azerbaijan is one of the main connectivity hubs linking Central Asia with the South Caucasus and Türkiye across the Caspian Sea.
The head of state stated that this issue is directly linked to security: "Azerbaijan’s geographical position—situated at the crossroads of Europe and Asia and maintaining active interaction both with the Central Asian member states of the OTS and with Türkiye—naturally underlines the role we play in implementing transport and energy security projects to the maximum benefit of all our countries."
According to the President, in the current geopolitical environment, energy, transport, and security can no longer be considered separate areas: "Today, without energy security and transport connectivity, it is virtually impossible to speak about overall security."
Another important pillar of the OTS's strengthening is the shared ethnic roots, closely related languages, cultures, and spiritual values of its member states. This factor complements political and economic interests within the organization with the existing historical ties between their peoples.
Consequently, Azerbaijan's policy toward the OTS is built on mutually complementary areas such as political coordination, security, energy and transport connectivity, investment, humanitarian cooperation, and shared spiritual and cultural values. The successive holding of high-level OTS events in various fields in Baku is also a practical manifestation of Azerbaijan's role as an active platform within the organization.
The goal outlined by President Ilham Aliyev at the conclusion of his remarks sums up the future direction of the OTS's development: "Ahead of us lies joint work, stronger cooperation, even closer ties between our countries and peoples, and the enhancement of the OTS's role on the international stage. Through joint efforts, we must strive to transform the OTS into one of the leading international institutions and organizations."
Azerbaijan's activities within the OTS are aimed at closer political, economic, and security integration of the Turkic world. Baku's hosting of successive high-level meetings and the deepening of allied relations and economic ties with member states further strengthen Azerbaijan's role as a central and reliable platform in this process. The main objective ahead is to transform the existing potential into a unified force and further expand the OTS's role and influence in the international arena.
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