Informal Turkic States Summit in Shusha Adopts “Garabagh Declaration” on More Connectivity & Cooperation – Supports Intl Recognition of Palestine – Condemns Situation in Gaza

SHUSHA / ISLAMABAD : Monitoring Desk +Azertag – The Informal Summit of the Organization of Turkic States (hereinafter referred to as the OTS), upon the initiative of the Republic of Azerbaijan, was held in Shusha on 6th of July 2024 on the theme of “Building a Sustainable Future through Transport, Connectivity and Climate Action”.

The meeting was hosted by H.E. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and attended by 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. Cevdet Yılmaz, Vice-President of the Republic of Türkiye, 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 adopted “Garabagh Declaration” in the summit ;

Considering the Turkic World as a family based on common ethnic roots, history, language, culture, traditions and values of the Turkic peoples that is committed to the ideas of peace, security, stability and development and prosperity in the region and in the world;

Stressing cross-continental dimension of Turkic peoples’ inputs and the highest value of the role the Turkic peoples played historically in global political, economic and civilizational developments;

Building upon political, economic and civilizational achievements of the Turkic peoples throughout the history of mankind;

Commending the Chairpersonship of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the successful organization of the jubilee Astana Summit held on 3 November 2023 under the motto “TURKTIME!”, which marked yet another milestone in further OTS transformation and Turkic World integration efforts, as well as strengthening unity and prosperity of their peoples;

Appreciating the proposal of H.E. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan to hold informal meetings of the Council of Heads of State (CHS) of the OTS once a year, along with the regular meetings of the CHS, in accordance with the Nakhchivan Agreement on the establishment of the OTS;

Acknowledging the spiritual significance of the city of Shusha in bringing peoples together from across the wider Turkic World and declaring that the meeting in Shusha after the full restoration of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan bears a symbolic manifestation of the unity of Turkic peoples and their adherence to peace and justice;

Expressing solidarity with the government and people of Azerbaijan in their efforts to rebuild and rehabilitate its liberated territories, including through massive mine action and humanitarian demining efforts that allow the return of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani Internally Displaced Persons to their homeland;

Affirming that the sustainable future is possible through the joint efforts aimed at developing stable and multifaceted links among the Turkic States inter alia for preserving the healthy planet through Climate Action;

Acknowledging that the current geopolitical and security challenges which the world faces, require the consolidated position of the Turkic States to act as a single force that necessitates regular consultations on regional and international matters of mutual interest;

The Heads of State of the OTS  declared that they:

1. Emphasize the historical value of informal Summit of the OTS in Shusha which has been the Cultural Capital of Turkic World-2023;

2. Reiterate the importance of using the full potential and opportunities of the Turkic States in the political, economic, transport, defense-industry, humanitarian, educational and cultural fields for further strengthening and deepening their strategic partnership and shaping a collective strategy of the OTS;

3. Stress the necessity to set more ambitious goals in view of potential of Turkic States in global scope, put in force relevant mechanisms and regulations to effectively implement the OTS tasks and purposes for building sustainable future by enhancing joint efforts and undertaking regional projects of strategic importance;

4. Highlight the importance of further development of connectivity among the Turkic States through the establishment of appropriate transport infrastructure and efficient trans-regional corridors in view of indispensable role of the Turkic States in the development of global trade and economy in the region and worldwide;

5. Enhance regional connectivity and economic integration among the Members through the Trans- Caspian International East-West Middle Corridor connecting Europe-Türkiye-South Caucasus-Central Asia-China, as a cornerstone for sustainable development, economic prosperity, and international trade by boosting trade volumes and attracting infrastructure investments in ports, railways, highways, and logistical hubs. Call for strengthened cooperation among member states to streamline transport operations, customs procedures, and embrace digitalization;

To that end, instruct Ministers in charge of Transport to take further steps to optimize and digitalize transport and transit procedures, introduce incentive mechanisms for the private sector aimed at attracting more cargo volume, and establish scheduled transport services along the Corridor;

6. Appreciate the modernization of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line and the trilateral efforts between Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Georgia, aimed at expediting customs controls for goods and vehicles along this line;

7. Welcome the signing of the historic Agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan on joint cooperation in promoting the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project on 6 June 2024, which will also contribute to the growth of international trade, investment and transit potential of the entire OTS region;

8. Note with satisfaction that the regional trade volume is steadily increasing, agree to take concrete measures to increase the trade volume to its true potential in upcoming years, underline the importance of eliminating technical barriers in trade without prejudice to international obligations and accelerating the completion of the text-based negotiations on DEPA (Digital Economy Partnership Agreement);

9. Emphasize the need for closer cooperation in addressing the climate change and its impacts on the sustainable development of the Turkic States through unified climate action;

10. Encourage the development of climate resilient smart cities and villages concepts within the Turkic States to enhance quality of life, promote sustainable development, and foster economic growth by improving digital infrastructure, public services, and sustainable practices, with a focus on integrating clean energy resources like solar, wind, and hydroelectric power to support climate action and in this line, initiate discussions on establishment of OTS Climate and Green Digital Platform and OTS Forum of Climate Resilient Villages;

11. Highlight the significance of the strategic partnership among the Turkic States in the field of energy, including development of cooperation in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency and welcome the recent developments in Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan Power Systems Interconnection Project (Green Corridor);

12. Call for enhanced cooperation for energy integration and interconnection among their energy systems to utilize immense potential of renewable energy in the Turkic States and to use opportunities for development of an extensive energy systems for export and trade of electricity, including from renewable sources among member states and to third countries;

13. Encourage the development of an institutional building mechanism (twinning) among the relevant authorities of the members of OTS in the fields of common interest like trade, energy, transport and similar, with the aim of transferring the experiences;

14. Welcome the active implementation of the Digital Silk Way Project, which aims to create a new telecommunication backbone route between Europe and Asia by utilizing the existing capabilities/infrastructure of the OTS countries;

15. Promote cooperation and exchange among the Turkic States on further advancement of digital government (e-Government) infrastructures; harmonization of e-signature/digital signature mechanisms for electronic document sharing and integration of online public services; fostering common cybersecurity protection measures against cyber-incidents and cyber-attacks; building policies, guidelines and partnerships on artificial intelligence (AI); and development of policies and best practices on establishment of data centers and cloud infrastructures;

16. Take note of the importance of creating a large language model of Member States for the successful development of AI projects and emphasize the importance of using a common platform, in the form of a large language model, to facilitate intercultural communication, develop educational platforms, improve healthcare technologies and promote economic integration;

17. Take note the importance (necessity) of consolidation of efforts for joint development of space projects in order to increase the capacity and competitiveness of national space programs and integrated development in the field of space technologies in order to increase the level of technological development and competitiveness of joint projects;

18. Instruct the Secretariat to establish cooperation mechanism of the relevant authorities of the Member and Observer States to cooperate in the field of the protection of environment and climate agenda to strengthen the regional and global response to the climate change challenges;

19. Welcome the initiative of the Republic of Uzbekistan, announced at the Astana Summit 2023, to establish a permanent Turkic Environmental Forum at the ministerial level and to plan its first meeting within the framework of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 29) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held from 11 to 22 November 2024 in Baku;

20. Wish the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan success in hosting the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on 11-22 November 2024 and support the consistent efforts of Azerbaijan in delivering tangible outcomes of the COP29 based on expectations of the parties to the Convention;

21. Express their readiness to engage in promoting the initiative to establish the new global dialogue “Mountains and Climate” in the annual calendar of the UN Climate Change Conference and consider joining the draft Document “Call to action for advancing the Mountain Agenda: mainstreaming mountains within the UNFCCC”;

22. Welcome the initiative of Kazakhstan to host the Regional Climate Summit in 2026 under the auspices of the UN and international organizations;

23. Wish the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan success in hosting the 6th Consultative Meeting of the Heads of States of Central Asia countries in Astana on 9 August 2024;

24. Reiterate their intention to continue joint activity in the field of the defense industry in accordance with the national legislation of the Member States and in this regard instruct relevant bodies of the Member States to take necessary measures;

25. Express deep concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and condemn indiscriminate targeting of civilians, call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and provision of unhindered humanitarian aid into Gaza as well as full compliance with international law, including the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions; and further call for a just and lasting settlement to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict on the basis of the two-State solution;

Support the international recognition of an independent, sovereign and contiguous state of Palestine based on pre-1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital and welcome the adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution on 10 May 2024 whereby the UN General Assembly determines that the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations and should therefore be admitted to membership in the United Nations, and call on all countries, that have not done so yet, to recognize the State of Palestine.

26. Welcome the valuable contributions of Hungary, Turkmenistan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to the OTS in their capacity as observers;

27. Commend the continued collaboration and increased synergy among the Turkic cooperation organizations, namely the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TURKPA), the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY), the Turkic Academy, the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation (TCHF), and the Turkic Investment Fund (TIF);

28. The Kyrgyz Republic reaffirmed its readiness to host the 11th Summit of the OTS in Bishkek on 24 October 2024;

29. Consider the proposal of the Kyrgyz Republic on Council of Heads of Government/Vice President;

30. Support the initiative of the Republic of Uzbekistan on charter of the Turkic World and instruct the Secretariat to finalize the draft document for its adoption at the next summit in Bishkek;

31. Welcome Hungary’s accession to the Agreement Establishing the Turkic Investment Fund, marking a significant milestone in strengthening economic relations within the OTS.

The Heads of States of OTS extend their gratitude to H.E. Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, for his robust and lasting contributions to the unity, solidarity, security and prosperity of the Turkic World, for his firm leadership in strengthening the unified spirit of the OTS, and steering the deliberations of the Shusha Informal Summit of the OTS to a successful conclusion and the warm hospitality of the Government and people of Azerbaijan.

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

Signed on 6 July 2024, in Shusha, 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 Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev

Vice-President of the Republic of Türkiye Cevdet Yılmaz”

On the eve of the Informal Summit of the Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States, we held the Foreign Ministerial Council Meeting today in Shusha and highlighted many important areas of our cooperation, including transport and logistics, trade and investment, combating the negative effects of climate change. Undoubtedly, the countries of the Turkic world, are dynamically developing, growing stronger, and continuing the historical path towards mutual rapprochement.