On 16 March 2023 Secretary General Mehmet Süreyya Er took part at the Extraordinary Summit of the Organization of Turkic States under the theme of “Disaster-Emergency Management and Humanitarian Assistance". The Summit held upon the initiative of the Republic of Azerbaijan was attended by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Zhaparov, the President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán, the Former President of the Republic of Turkmenistan, the Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty of the Milli Gengesh of the Republic of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Ersin Tatar.

The Members of the OTS Council of Elders headed by Binali Yıldırım, as well as Heads of Turkic Cooperation Organizations also attended the meeting.

Participants observed a minute of silence to commemorate those who lost their lives as a result of devastating earthquakes disaster.

Parties discussed the issues on strengthening cooperation among national disaster management authorities of the OTS member states in order to join efforts in the fight against disasters and emergencies, as well as held consultations on current challenges in the region.

The Ankara Declaration was signed by the OTS Leaders as a final document of the Summit.

The 10th Summit of OTS will be held in Turkistan, the Republic of Kazakhstan.