Turkic states express solidarity with Turkish people, government in recovery from aftermath of earthquakes Ankara Declaration of OTS

The Declaration was adopted on March 16 at the Extraordinary Summit of the Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States held in Ankara at the initiative of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

Azertac published the text of the Ankara Declaration.

“The Extraordinary Summit of the Organization of Turkic States (hereinafter referred to as the OTS), upon the initiative of the Republic of Azerbaijan, was held in Ankara on 16 March 2023 on the theme of “Disaster-Emergency Management and Humanitarian Assistance.”

The meeting was hosted by H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Türkiye, and attended by H.E. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, H.E. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, H.E. Sadyr Zhaparov, President of the Kyrgyz Republic, H.E. Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, H.E. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, National Leader of the Turkmen People and Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty of Turkmenistan, H.E. Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary, H.E. Ersin Tatar, President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, as well as H.E. Kubanychbek Omuraliev, Secretary General of the OTS.

The Heads of State of the OTS,

Reiterating their deepest condolences to the brotherly Turkish people for the two devastating earthquakes which claimed thousands of lives and left thousands more injured and caused heavy destruction in the south-eastern region of Türkiye on 6 February 2023;

Expressing their gratitude to the peoples of Member and Observer States as well as other countries and international organizations/platforms for immediately extending a helping hand to those areas heavily affected by the earthquakes;

Commending the quick response of the Member and Observer States of the OTS and the rapid deployment of their search and rescue teams following the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye;

Welcoming the announcement of the Türkiye Flash Appeal by the United Nations and an International Donors’ Conference to be co-organized by the European Union (EU) Commission and the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council to mobilize global support for Türkiye and Syria;

Emphasizing the importance of the rapid deployment of search and rescue teams as well as quick delivery of humanitarian relief in response to the disasters;

Highlighting the necessity of bilateral and multilateral cooperation and coordination for preventing, responding, and overcoming natural disasters in the OTS region and around the world in line with the “Turkic World Vision 2040”;

Welcoming the outcomes of the Ministerial Meeting of the OTS on Disaster and Emergency Management held at AFAD in Ankara on 21 December 2022 concerning the establishment of a Civil Protection Mechanism in line with paragraph 51 of the Declaration of the 8th Summit of the OTS in 2021;

Recalling their decision to instruct their relevant Ministries to initiate cooperation on green technologies and smart cities as endorsed in the Declaration of the 8th Summit of the OTS;

Praising the outstanding political, economic, and socio-cultural progress achieved by the Turkic States in realizing the vision and goals outlined in the “Turkic World Vision 2040”;

Reaffirming their commitment to supporting activities of the OTS to promote the values and interests of the Turkic World;

Stressing the ever-increasing central role of the OTS in deepening and strengthening cooperation and coordination of the Turkic World in the fields of trade, transport, investment, tourism, regional connectivity, and strategic human resources management;

Committing to exploring all possibilities of furthering their cooperation in regional and international fora;

Commending the Chairpersonship of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the successful organization of the historic Samarkand Summit held on 11 November 2022, which marked yet another milestone in the transformation of the OTS and further integration of the Turkic World; and underscoring their determination to support the Chairperson’s activities aimed at strengthening solidarity as well as ensuring peace, stability, security and prosperity of the peoples of Member and Observer States of the OTS;

Congratulating the Republic of Türkiye on the centenary of the founding of the Republic and the quincentenary of laying the foundation of the Turkish Foreign Service;

Stating their sincere wishes for the well-being and prosperity of the peoples of all the Member and Observer States on the occasion of Nowruz and holy Ramadan;

Alarmed by the recent hate crimes committed against the sacred values of Muslims in some countries; and, in this connection, stressing the crucial importance of mutual respect between different cultures so as to maintain peaceful coexistence, dialogue and harmony among people with different beliefs and culture;

Declared that they:

1. Expressed solidarity with the People and the Government of the Republic of Türkiye in the recovery and reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the earthquakes;

2. Applauded the devoted search and rescue operations carried out in the wake of the disaster by emergency response teams deployed by Member and Observer States as well as other countries and international organisations/platforms from all around the world; and extended their gratitude to the teams that saved many lives through their ceaseless efforts;

3. Expressed their readiness to strengthen cooperation among national medical rescue teams of the Member and Observer States of the OTS, and to engage in joint capacity-building activities;

4. Reiterated their readiness to continue providing humanitarian relief for those who were affected by the earthquakes if/and when needed;

5. Encourage its members to take part in the International Donors’ Conference to be co-organized by the EU Commission and the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council which is planned on 20 March 2023 in Brussels;

6. Agreed to strengthen cooperation among national disaster management authorities of the OTS to address needs in an effective, coordinated, and timely manner in case of possible disasters and emergencies, and instructed in this regard the relevant authorities to conclude the Agreement on the Establishment of the Civil Protection Mechanism of the Organization of Turkic States by the 10th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Turkistan, the Republic of Kazakhstan;

7. Noted that a post-disaster needs assessment will set a good reference point for the international community in continuing its support to Türkiye throughout the course of recovery and reconstruction of the affected regions; welcomed the aspiration/determination to base these efforts on the principles of Build Back Better and Energy Efficiency; highlighted the importance of more resilient, sustainable and green development in the Turkic World, and recognized smart cities’ particular role in revitalizing public goods;

8. Appreciated the active involvement of the Observer States in the activities of the OTS; and noted the participation of the TRNC at the Extraordinary Summit of the OTS;

9. Welcomed the signing of the Agreement Establishing the Turkic Investment Fund which aims to mobilize the economic potential of Member States of the OTS and strengthen the trade and economic cooperation between them;

10. Reaffirmed their conviction of the successful conclusion of upcoming general and presidential elections in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Türkiye, as well as a referendum in Uzbekistan;

11. Extend their gratitude to His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of the Republic of Türkiye, for his robust and lasting contributions to the unity and solidarity as well as security and prosperity of the Turkic World, firm leadership in strengthening the unified spirit of the Organization of Turkic States and wish him success in the upcoming elections;

12. Reaffirmed their full commitment to the proclamation of a “World Turkic Language Day” by UNESCO;

13. Condemned in the strongest terms the recent hate crimes against our holy book, the Quran, that offended all Muslims and could pave the way for new racist, xenophobic and Islamophobic provocations and attacks in the future;

14. Condemned the deadly armed attack against the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Tehran and called for a swift and comprehensive investigation to bring all those responsible to justice;

15. Commended the significant achievements in the activities of the Secretariat of the OTS and reiterated their resolve to further strengthen the capacity of the Secretariat for the implementation of the tasks assigned by and enshrined in the documents adopted by the Members;

16. Further agreed to instruct OTS Member States’ Ministries of Foreign Affairs and other relevant institutions to accelerate preparations for the upcoming 10th Summit of the OTS.

Kazakhstan reaffirmed its readiness to host the 10th Summit of the OTS in Turkistan, Republic of Kazakhstan in October 2023.

The Heads of State of the OTS express profound gratitude to H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Türkiye for steering the deliberations of the Ankara Extraordinary Summit of the OTS to a successful conclusion and appreciate the warm hospitality of the Government and people of Türkiye.

The Secretary General of the OTS is tasked to coordinate the mutual action and joint efforts stipulated in this Declaration.

Signed on 16 March 2023, in Ankara, in Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkish and Uzbek languages.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan          Ilham Aliyev

President of the Republic of Kazakhstan         Kassym-Jomart Tokayev

President of the Kyrgyz Republic                   Sadyr Zhaparov

President of the Republic of Türkiye              Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan         Shavkat Mirziyoyev”