OTS Secretary General expresses solidarity with Türkiye amid disaster

Secretary General of the Organisation of Turkic States Kubanychbek Omuraliev has said that the support rendered to Türkiye amid the consequences of the devastating February earthquakes is important and invaluable.

“The topic of the summit of leaders of the member states of the Organisation of Turkic States scheduled for March 16 "Disaster management and humanitarian assistance" is not accidental,” he said, according to Anadolu.

“The member states of the Organisation of Turkic States are driven by the principle “Our strength is in unity,” Omuraliev said.

The secretary general noted that after the earthquakes on February 6 with the epicentre in Kahramanmaras, Türkiye faced severe consequences of the earthquake.

“In such difficult days, the international community and countries assisted Türkiye. Among them were the member states of the Organisation of Turkic States. The leaders of the Turkic-speaking states phoned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the first day after the earthquake. Rescuers from the member states of the Organisation of Turkic States were also sent to the earthquake zone,” the secretary general of the organisation said.

As for the forthcoming summit, Omuraliev did not rule out that a joint Declaration could be adopted as a result of the discussions in Ankara.

He stressed that the formation of the Civil Protection Mechanism is planned to be discussed during the summit to prevent tragedies associated with natural disasters.

“It is important not to allow the repetition of such disasters in other countries. Therefore, the Mechanism is required," the secretary general noted.

“Moreover, the leaders of the member states of the Organisation of Turkic States will discuss the activity of the Turkic Investment Fund. Other issues will be included in the agenda of the summit of the Organisation of Turkic States in Kazakhstan’s Turkistan city,” Omuraliev said.