The Republic of Azerbaijan has always paid special attention to its relations with the Organization of Turkish States (OTS), which was founded in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic on October 3, 2009, and has defined this direction as one of the main priorities of its foreign policy. Azerbaijan treats the OTS as an important platform for expanding and deepening cooperation with member and observer countries of the said organization.

Under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan regularly comes up with new proposals and initiatives in the direction of increasing the reputation of OTS and achieving serious achievements in this context, thereby making its unique contribution to strengthening the organization's functionality.

The fact that Azerbaijan has strategic alliance or strategic partnerships with the majority of the OTS member and observer states within the framework of the organization in political, national security, civil defense, economic-trade, energy, transport-logistics, agriculture, culture, provides the basis for multilateral cooperation in many fields, including humanitarian, health, education, youth and sports, tourism, information technology, space exploration, media, law, justice and judiciary.

Azerbaijan continues the cooperation within the framework of OTS on international platforms and in this regard highly appreciates the organization's experience of taking a unified position on sensitive issues related to the national interests of member countries.

The importance Azerbaijan attaches to cooperation with OTS forms the basis of the accomplishments achieved as a result of cooperation with Turkish cooperation organizations. The location of the housing headquarters of two of the Turkish cooperation organizations - the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TURKPA) and the Turkish Culture and Heritage Foundation (TCF) in Baku, Azerbaijan, is a clear indication of the desire of our country to raise its relations with the Turkic world to a new stage in terms of substance and quality.

The Organization of Turkic States (previously known as the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking Countries) is a regional organization whose main purpose is to facilitate comprehensive cooperation between Turkic states. The main activity goals and tasks of OTS are defined by the Nakhchivan Agreement and consist of the following:

-strengthening of mutual trust between the parties;

-establishing peace in the region and the world;

-promoting a common approach to foreign policy issues;

-coordinating the fight against international terrorism, separatism, extremism and transnational crime;

-strengthening regional and bilateral cooperation in all areas of common interest;

-creation of favorable conditions for trade relations and investments;

-making efforts for comprehensive and balanced economic growth, social and cultural development;

-expansion of mutual relations in the field of science, technologies, education and culture;

-promotion of relations between mass media, as well as information exchange on a wider scale;

-expansion of the exchange of legal information, cooperation in the field of law.

The member country that hosts the meeting of the Council of Heads of State chairs the OTS until the next summit:

-Council of Heads of State;

-Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs;

-Committee of Senior Officials;

-Council of Elders;

-Secretariat;

-Coordination Committee;

-Representative Office of the Turkish Council in Budapest.

The member country that hosts the meeting of the Council of Heads of State chairs the OTS until the next summit.

Related bodies and organizations

TURKSOY: TURKSOY (International Organization for Turkish Culture), headquartered in Ankara, was founded in 1993. The purpose of the organization is to expand cooperation between member countries in the fields of science, education, culture and art, to promote the common values ​​of the Turkic world at the international level, as well as to deepen cultural relations between Turkic-speaking countries.

TÜRKPA: (Parliamentary Assembly of the Turkic States) was established on the basis of the Istanbul Agreement and started its activities in 2008. The headquarters is located in Baku. The purpose of the assembly is to expand cooperation between the parliamentary structures of Turkic-speaking countries.

Turkish Academy: It started to operate as a registered organization in Kazakhstan in 2010. The Agreement on the establishment of the Turkish Academy was signed on August 22-23, 2012 at the II Summit of TDT held in Bishkek, and the Academy was given international status. The Turkish Academy is located in Astana. It works to coordinate and promote the study of the language, literature, culture and ethnography of the Turkic peoples. Other activity goals of the Academy include researching the cultural and spiritual heritage of the Turkish people, increasing their share in the development of world civilization, informing the world community about the achievements of the Turkish people.

Turkish Culture and Heritage Foundation: The Charter of the Turkish Culture and Heritage Foundation was signed on August 22-23, 2012 at the II Summit held in Bishkek. Headquartered in Baku, the Foundation helps preserve, research and promote Turkish culture and heritage by funding and supporting various events, projects and programs related to the Turkic world.

Turkish Business Council: Established in 2011. The organization deepens economic cooperation between Turkic-speaking countries through business circles and other organizations of TDT member countries.

Turkish Chamber of Commerce and Industry: Established in 2019. It deepens the economic cooperation between the Turkic-speaking countries through the business circles, chambers of commerce and industry of the member countries.

OTS Summits

After the establishment of OTS, eleven summit meetings were held in Almaty, Bishkek, Gabala, Bodrum, Nur-Sultan (Astana), Cholpan-Ata, Baku, Turkistan (online), Baku (emergency), Ankara (emergency), Samarkand, Astana, and Bishkek.

- The first Summit of the TASS was held on October 20-21, 2011 in Almaty on the topic of "Economic cooperation".

- The second Summit of the TASS was held on August 22-23, 2012 in Bishkek. The topic of the summit was "Cooperation in the field of education, science and culture".

- The third Summit Meeting of the TASS was held on August 15-16, 2013 in Gabala. The theme of the summit was "Transport and connectivity".

- The fourth Summit of the TASS was held on June 4-5, 2014 in Bodrum on the topic of "Cooperation in the field of tourism".

- The fifth Summit of the TASS was held on September 10-11, 2015 in the city of Nur-Sultan (Astana) on the topic of "Cooperation in the field of media and information".

- The sixth Summit of the Youth and Sports Council was held on September 3, 2018 in Cholpan-Ata on the topic of "Youth and Sports".

- The 7th Summit of the Council of Ministers of Economy and Trade was held on October 15, 2019 in Baku on the topic of "Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises".

 - The Extraordinary Summit of the Council of Heads of State of OTS was held on April 10, 2020 through video conference on the topic "Solidarity and cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic". "Baku Declaration of the Extraordinary Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States" was adopted at the Extraordinary Summit.

- The eighth Summit of OTS was held on November 12, 2021 in Istanbul on the topic "Green technologies and smart cities in the digital age".

- The informal Summit of OTS was held on March 31, 2021 via video conference. The Turkistan Declaration was adopted at the summit meeting. Also, the city of Turkestan in Kazakhstan was declared the "Spiritual Capital" of the Turkic World. 

- The ninth Summit of OTS was held on November 11, 2022 in Samarkand on the theme "New era of Turkish civilization: towards joint development and progress".

- The second emergency Summit of the OTS was held on March 16, 2023 in Ankara on the topic of "Disaster - Emergency Management and Humanitarian Aid".

- The tenth anniversary Summit of OTS was held in Astana on November 3, 2023 under the call of "Turkish Era".

Currently, the Kyrgyz Republic chairs the OTS. The current General Secretary of TDT is Kubanichbek Omuraliyev, a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic, since November 11, 2022.

OTS attaches great importance to cooperation with international organizations. The organization has already established relations with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Organization of Economic Cooperation, the OSCE, the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, the Council on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, the UN, and the World Tourism Organization.