Exploring trade dynamics within Organization of Turkic States Caliber.Az infographic

The Organization of Turkic States (OTS) was established in 2009 in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan as an intergovernmental organization with the primary objective of fostering comprehensive cooperation among the Turkic states.

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan are members of the OTS.

The idea, first proposed by ex-Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 2006, was realized on October 3, 2009, in Nakhchivan with the General Secretariat in Istanbul.

Hungary, Northern Cyprus, and Turkmenistan are observer states of the organization.

During the 8th summit in Istanbul in 2021, the name of the pan-Turkic agency was changed to the Organization of Turkic States.

Currently, the population of the member countries of the OTS is over 173 million people with the volume of the GDP of the member states totalling $1.5 trillion, and the trade turnover over $1.2 trillion.

The population of the OTS member states accounts for 2.2% of the world's population, 2.4% of total trade turnover, and 1.6% of the global GDP. The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and the Turkic states increased by 70% compared to the previous year and increased from $5.3 billion to $7.17 billion.

Azerbaijan's trade turnover with the Turkic states is aimed to increase to $15bn within the coming years.