Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has welcomed the participants of the OTS summit in the historic city of Samarkand.
Distinguished heads of state and governments!
Dear friends!
I am delighted to see you in the great city of Samarkand, one of the centers of world civilization, at the crossroads of the Great Silk Road.
I want to express my special gratitude to all of you for participating in the Summit of the newly named Organization of Turkic States.
Welcome to the land of Uzbekistan, dear friends!
Dear summit participants!
First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for supporting the initiative to declare the city of Samarkand, which is a symbol of friendship and peace, a center of science and education for the people of the world, as the «Capital of Turkic Civilization.»
It is well-known that the ancient Turkic land has been connecting the East and the West for thousands of years, bringing world civilizations closer to each other and enriching various cultures.
We are rightfully proud that our great ancestors created together the bright pages of the great past of the Turkic world.
It is the most critical task for all of us to preserve such an invaluable heritage, study it deeply, and pass it on to future generations.
Another importance of today's Summit is that for the first time in our multi-thousand-year history, our Turkic family is gathering in such a packed format as a part of our renewed Organization.
Undoubtedly, under the motto «A new era of Turkic civilization: towards common progress and prosperity,» we are entering a new stage of joint growth.
Distinguished heads of delegations!
Today, we are all going through difficult trials related to acute geopolitical contradictions, the global economic crisis, and the negative consequences of climate change.
Therefore, our countries must identify common approaches and coordinate efforts to address the most pressing problems in the current dangerous situation.
We can overcome any difficulties through friendship, cooperation, and mutual support.
I want to emphasize that during Türkiye's chairmanship at our Organization last year, much work was accomplished in various directions, and our cooperation has become more active.
During Uzbekistan's chairmanship, we also intend:
To effectively implement the «Turkic world vision - 2040» concept and the «Five-year strategy of the organization of Turkic states» that is being adopted today, to strengthen further the authority of our Organization, which includes a vast region with more than 170 million people, and most importantly, to bring to a higher level the cooperation between our brotherly peoples and countries with a shared history, language, and culture.
Dear colleagues!
While preparing for the Summit, we thoroughly analyzed the activities of our Organization.
It should be recognized that significant work has been accomplished to develop multilateral relations between our countries.
Meanwhile, it is also true that our great potential and vast opportunities are not fully exploited.
First, it is necessary to strengthen the trade and economic pillar of our cooperation.
Mutual trade between our countries constitutes only 4% of total foreign trade. And the rest of it corresponds to the share of third countries. Indeed, none of us are satisfied with this situation.
In addition, some import customs tariffs between our countries remain high.
To fundamentally change the situation in this strategic direction and ensure the free movement of trade, investment, and services, we put forward the initiative to establish a «space of new economic opportunities» within our Organization.
To implement this plan, I propose to hold an annual International Turkic Economic Forum involving the member and observer states of our Organization and leading world business representatives.
Holding the joint G2B events, business meetings, and «round tables,» presentations of innovative projects, and exhibitions in the framework of the Forum shall yield great practical results.
As an outcome of these events, it will be essential to adopt the annual «Road Maps» focused on implementing joint programs and projects.
Our work shall be focused primarily on boosting mutual trade and joint entry into third-country markets, creating continuous value chains, high-tech clusters, and venture companies.
We also fully support the establishment of a joint investment fund.
Another urgent issue of strategic importance on the agenda is the strengthening the transport connectivity.
For instance, we speak much about the Transcaspian international corridor but must accomplish much to achieve tangible results.
For example, Uzbekistan transports only 10% of its foreign trade goods through this transport corridor.
To fully utilize our transport and transit potential, we need to find answers to the following questions:
- What should we do in this direction?
- What additional measures should be taken? And when and by whom should they be taken?
Based on the Program adopted today, we suggest that our transport ministers develop a clear plan and effective mechanisms for cooperation by the end of the year.
We should focus on the following:
- increasing the competitiveness of transit corridors in our region;
- introducing the most favorable tariffs for business;
- creating a modern transport infrastructure.
In this regard, we call on the states of our Organization to join the system of electronic transport permit exchange recently introduced between Türkiye and Uzbekistan.
III. The First Turkic Agricultural Forum held this year in Tashkent has shown that we have great potential to ensure food security.
We have the potential to supply agricultural and food products not only in our countries but also the foreign markets.
We should also strengthen our practical steps and deepen our cooperation based on specific projects.
In particular, I propose the following:
First, it is high time to adopt a multilateral agreement within our Organization to create an adequate food supply system based on the needs of global and domestic markets and the production capacities of our countries.
Second, it is essential to establish a comprehensive partnership between the Organization of Turkic States and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to accelerate innovation, modern knowledge, and advanced technology in the industry.
Third, based on the positive experience, hold the Turkic Agricultural Forum regularly and organize an international SMART agricultural exhibition at its second conference.
Dear summit participants!
As Uzbekistan proposed, 2022 was declared the «Year of Support for Youth Initiatives» within the Organization of Turkic States.
As a part of this, the city of Bukhara received the status of the youth capital of the Turkic world.
We intend to consistently continue the excellent work we have started to encourage the young generation to realize their talents and abilities.
I propose to hold the International congress of science and innovation of youth of the Turkic world in our country next year.
Within its framework, we plan to organize extensive meetings of ministers of innovation and education, rectors of universities and young leaders, talented youth, and elders of our Organization.
To render a systematic tone to our work and ensure effectiveness, it would be appropriate to introduce the position of the Deputy Secretary-General of the Organization for Youth Affairs.
Another priority direction is ensuring robust security in our region.
The conflicts in various parts of the world also affect the security of the Turkic world.
In such a complex situation, our law enforcement agencies and security services should be in constant contact and strengthen cooperation in combating terrorism, extremism, the radicalization of youth, human and drug trafficking, and ensuring public and cyber security.
We also express our readiness to organize the next Meeting of the Secretaries of the Security Councils of the states of our Organization in Uzbekistan.
I want to draw your attention to another urgent issue.
Today, the complex situation in neighboring Afghanistan is a significant concern to all of us.
We should never forget about turning the situation in this country in a positive direction.
We encourage regular dialogues among our Foreign Ministers to develop a common approach to the Afghan issue.
Dear friends!
VII. I am pleased to announce that Uzbekistan has become a full member of the International Organization of Turkic culture.
We fully endorse the proposal to hold the festival of the culture of the Turkic people next year as part of the Organization's celebrations of its 30th anniversary.
We have recently published a 100-volume book series, «Masterpieces of Turkic literature» in the Uzbek language, consisting of a collection of literature from the member and observer-states of our Organization.
Suppose we publish this priceless spiritual treasure in the languages of all member and observer-states. In that case, it shall create a solid foundation for strengthening the ties of our brotherly countries, especially our younger generations.
As a part of our meeting, all of us are extremely glad that for the first time, the international prize of Alisher Navoi, the great poet, thinker, and statesman who has made an incomparable contribution to strengthening the unity of the Turkic world, will be awarded.
We believe you will support our proposal to present this award annually.
Distinguished heads of delegations!
Our most urgent tasks are raising the activity of the Organization of Turkic States to a new quality level, increasing its authority, fully tapping the potential of our cooperation, and ensuring the implementation of our decisions and agreements.
Our Organization's framework has established many structures and mechanisms, and many ministerial-level meetings and other events are being held.
However, we must openly admit that we still have a lot of work to do regarding their systematic coordination and effectiveness.
We need to join our joint efforts so that our Organization works based on an entirely new, effective system.
To this end, we propose the following institutional reforms in the Organization:
- First, I propose creating separate committees at the ministerial level on our priority areas: politics and security, trade and investment, transport, agriculture, energy, information technology, tourism, innovation and education, medicine, youth, and other areas.
The active involvement of experts and scientists and public and private sector representatives in their activities shall undoubtedly have a significant effect.
Moreover, time demands a dramatic increase in the role and influence of the Secretariat of our Organization.
It should effectively organize work in all directions and influence our fruitful multilateral cooperation.
Based on the above, I believe that we shall approve the new structure of the Secretariat at our next Summit.
Another issue concerns strengthening the strict monitoring system for implementing all decisions and documents adopted by the Heads of State.
I believe we should involve the council of elders of our Organization in this process and use their rich experience and skills.
Dear friends!
Our Turkic world has a great history, great ancestors, and incomparable wealth.
And I believe that the Turkic world has a great future.
Undoubtedly, we shall create this future together with our hardworking, generous, and noble people.
Our Summit in the ancient city of Samarkand shall usher in a new growth stage in the modern history of the civilization of the Turkic world.
Today, the Samarkand Declaration, which expresses such a noble idea, shall be adopted.
Thank you for supporting our proposal to declare 2023 as the Year of the Rise of Turkic Civilization within our Organization.
Dear colleagues!
On behalf of all my colleagues, I wish the President of Kazakhstan, esteemed Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich Tokayev, and the friendly people of Kazakhstan a successful holding of the important political event – the forthcoming presidential elections.
We believe that the wise people of Kazakhstan will vote for the peace and progress of their country and the continuity of the critical reforms being carried out.
In conclusion, I would like to pay a special tribute to Mr. Baghdad Amreyev, who is completing his service as Secretary-General of our Organization.
I wish You success and good luck in Your future endeavors.
I warmly congratulate the newly appointed Secretary-General, Mr. Kuvanichbek Omuraliev, an experienced diplomat.
I wish You great success in Your responsible work.
Thank you for your attention!