OTS Council of Foreign Ministers` meeting wraps up in Shusha

Informal Meeting of the Council of the Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) concluded in Shusha on July 6.

Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States Kubanychbek Omuraliev announced the conclusion of the meeting via his X account, Caliber.Az reports per AZERTAC.

Omuraliyev stated that the foreign ministers finalized the key topics for discussion and prepared essential documents for approval and signing by the heads of state.

In his opening remarks, Azerbaijan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov emphasized said that the Informal Summit of the Organization of Turkic States was the first high-level Summit meeting held in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

“It is entirely natural that the first high-level meeting held in Shusha is the event of our native family, the Organization of Turkic States. As it is known, the Summit meeting is the third unofficial extraordinary Summit meeting held at the initiative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev,” Bayramov added.

FM Bayramov underscored that relations with OTS member and observer states are the main priority of Azerbaijan's foreign policy.

Furthermore, the agenda of the meeting was adopted, followed by speeches on the agenda issues.

Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Murat Nurtleu, noted that official Astana looks forward to expanding ties with member countries across all domains, including digital technologies, culture, infrastructure, tourism, investments, and other areas.

He added: “Our family possesses huge potential and resources, and we have shared objectives. Kazakhstan highly values the establishment of synergy between the international transport route, the North-South Transport Corridor and the “One Belt, One Road” initiative and closely cooperates with all member states.”

Simultaneously, Murat Nurtleu emphasized that Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are taking joint steps in implementing important projects aimed at creating the green energy export infrastructure to Europe in the future. Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister also highlighted close cooperation and coordination with TÜRKPA, TURKSOY, Turkic Investment Fund, Turkic Academy, Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, which would contribute to the prosperity of the peoples.

Mentioning the rising importance of the Organization of Turkic States at the international level, Azerbaijani FM Jeyhun Bayramov said: "Simultaneously, this serves to enhance the reputation and economic potential of the member and observer states of the Organization in the international arena.

 The theme of the summit, building a sustainable future through transport, connectivity and climate action, was chosen in line with today's reality. As it is known, Azerbaijan will host COP29 this November. I believe that this event can be considered as a success of the Turkic world. So, for the first time, the Turkic state will host such a flagship event. First of all, we hope for the support of brotherly countries in the organization of COP29.”

The minister emphasized that the events taking place in the world today have an environmental impacts, and thus, a sustainable future would only be possible by protecting the healthy planet through climate action. Bayramov underscored the need for cooperation between the Turkic states in this regard.

Jeyhun Bayramov also provided an insight into the situation of the normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia and highlighted the ongoing discussions, initiated by Azerbaijan, in the area of signing a draft bilateral agreement on establishing peace and interstate relations with Armenia.

The meeting then featured the speeches on the agenda.