Heads of Turkic states join forces to face world challenges together Euronews covers Shusha summit

Euronews TV's website featured an article on the informal Summit of the Organisation of Turkic States held in Shusha, Azerbaijan. Caliber.Az reprints the piece.

The informal Summit of Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States was held in Karabakh.

The leaders of the Turkic nations came together in a summit over the weekend to join forces to face the “current geopolitical and security challenges which the world faces”, as they stated in a joint statement.

The Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) summit was chaired by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Shusha, Karabakh to, as he said, “reaffirm the unity of the Turkic world” and to “consolidate the position of the Turkic States, to act as a single force that necessitates regular consultations on regional and international matters of mutual interest”.

The presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan together with the Turkish vice-president were joined by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to discuss various joint economic projects as well as common political and security approaches towards the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process and its challenges, the Russia-Ukraine war and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The leaders adopted a so-called Karabakh Declaration which lists several joint initiatives, especially the development of the so-called Trans-Caspian International East-West Middle Corridor connecting Europe-Türkiye-South Caucasus-Central Asia-China, to increase trade and strengthen common infrastructure.

The summit also discussed increased energy cooperation among members and various projects based on digital solutions such as the development of climate-resilient smart cities, insisting on digital infrastructure.

Azerbaijani President Aliyev told the delegates that the expansion of the East-West transport corridor is a top priority for his country, following a 60% increase in East-West cargo transport.

He also stressed the importance of the Digital Silk Road project to create a fibre-optic telecommunication route between Europe and Asia via Azerbaijan along the Caspian seabed. Turkish vice-president Cevdet Yilmaz said the transportation of resources via the Caspian towards Europe will contribute to Europe’s energy security.

As Azerbaijan embarks on hosting this year’s COP29, the summit focuses on developing a “unified climate action” by the Turkic states, through several environmental initiatives including renewable energy.

Hungarian Prime Minister Orban, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency and joined the so-called Turkic Investment Fund, told the delegates that Hungary wants “communication and interaction to restore global cooperation in the interests of peace” and that he hopes Europe will get the “opportunity to leave in peace”, just as Azerbaijan embarks on its peace process with Armenia.