President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called for deeper economic and security cooperation among Turkic states, describing their solidarity as a “strategic necessity” in an article published ahead of their summit in Ankara.
The article, titled “The Century of the Turkic World: From Solidarity to Integration,” appeared in media outlets in member and observer states of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) ahead of its 13th summit on Oct. 30.
Erdoğan said wars and crises had made closer cooperation essential as the international system struggled to ensure justice and security.
Such cooperation must respect each country’s sovereignty, independence and national will, he wrote.
Türkiye would use the OTS chairmanship it was due to take over from Azerbaijan to strengthen the organization and advance shared goals, he said.
Erdoğan identified economic integration as a priority, pointing to the Trans-Caspian Middle Corridor as an opportunity to strengthen the region’s role in trade between Asia and Europe. Railways, ports, road links and customs systems were being developed as a connected network, he wrote.
“Every investment linking the two shores of the Caspian will expand trade among our brotherly countries and contribute to our shared prosperity,” he wrote.
He pledged more effective use of the Turkic Investment Fund and joint efforts to remove trade barriers, alongside closer cooperation in production, investment, energy and communications.
On security, Erdoğan said Turkic states would pool resources to address terrorism, cross-border crime, cyber threats and natural disasters.
They would also develop domestic defense technologies and expand joint production.
He backed efforts toward a common Turkic alphabet and closer cooperation in education, science, publishing and digital technology, including promoting Turkic languages in the age of artificial intelligence.
Erdoğan also called for stronger ties between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, an OTS observer, and other Turkic states.
He reiterated support for ending what he described as the unjust isolation of Turkish Cypriots and securing recognition of their sovereign equality and equal international status.
