Secretary General Mehmet Süreyya Er participated at the Ninth Summit of the Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) held on 11 November 2022 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan under the theme "New Era for Turkic Civilization: Towards Common Development and Prosperity".
The Summit hosted by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan H.E. Shavkat Mirziyoyev was attended by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan H.E. Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan H.E. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic H.E. Sadyr Zhaparov, the President of the Republic of Türkiye H.E Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Prime Minister of Hungary H.E. Viktor Orbán, the Former President of Turkmenistan, the Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty of the Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan H.E. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and the OTS Secretary General H.E. Baghdad Amreyev.
During the Summit, the Chairmanship of the Organization was handed over from Türkiye to Uzbekistan. The importance of further development of relations and expanding of multilateral cooperation, as well as facilitation of trade relations between the Turkic States were discussed during the meeting.
The Summit featured the signing of a number of significant documents such as decisions on OTS Strategy for 2022-2026, Trade Facilitation Strategy of the OTS, Agreement on Establishment of Simplified Customs Corridor, Agreement on International Combined Freight Transport, Transport Connectivity Program, as well as the Samarkand Declaration.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was granted observer status in the OTS. The Summit also took decision on the establishment of the Turkic Investment Fund.
The Summit adopted decision on appointment of Secretary General and Deputies Secretary General of the OTS, and President and Vice President of the International Turkic Academy. The Leaders appointed H.E. Kubanychbek Omuraliev as the new Secretary General of the OTS for the next term.
It was decided to hold the next Summit in Kazakhstan in 2023.
The meeting was followed by an awards ceremony. President of Türkiye H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty of the Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan H.E. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov were awarded with the "Supreme Order of the Turkic World".
World-famous Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov was posthumously awarded the Alisher Navoi prize in recognition of his contributions to the unity and development of the Turkic World. The award was handed to President of the Kyrgyz Respublic H.E. Sadyr Zhaparov.
