ORGANISATION OF TURKIC STATES SUMMIT IN ANKARA

The 13th summit of the Organisation of Turkic States (hereinafter: OTS) convened in Ankara on 29 October 2026, producing a series of institutional and policy decisions that mark a notable expansion of the Turkic bloc's ambitions. The meeting brought together heads of state and foreign ministers from member states to address leadership succession within the organisation, the facilitation of citizen mobility across member territories and the establishment of a new framework for engaging third-party states and organisations. Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, hosted the Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting held as part of the summit (Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Uzbekistan's Azimov Appointed OTS Secretary General

The summit's most consequential institutional decision was the appointment of Mirvohid Azimov, Deputy Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan, as the new Secretary General of the Organisation of Turkic States. Azimov becomes the first representative of Uzbekistan to hold the post since the organisation's founding, a development that reflects Tashkent's deepening engagement with the bloc (Gazeta.uz). The decision was formalised at the Ankara summit, according to reporting from regional outlets covering the proceedings. Uzbekistan joined the OTS as a full member in 2019, and the appointment signals a shift in the organisation's internal balance toward Central Asian representation (Times of Central Asia). Azimov's background in Uzbekistan's diplomatic service positions him to manage the organisation's growing institutional agenda at a moment when the OTS is broadening its policy scope.

Mirziyoyev Proposes Multilateral Travel Agreement

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev used the summit to advance a concrete proposal on citizen mobility among OTS member states. He called for a multilateral agreement that would allow citizens of member states to travel to one another's territories using national identity cards rather than passports, and proposed simplifying border crossing procedures and the conditions governing stays in host nations (Gazeta.uz). The proposal, if adopted, would represent a significant reduction in administrative barriers for movement across the Turkic-speaking world, which spans territories from the eastern Mediterranean to Türkistan. Mirziyoyev framed the initiative as a practical measure to deepen people-to-people ties alongside the economic and political cooperation the OTS already pursues. No timeline for negotiations or ratification was specified in the available reporting from the summit.

The travel proposal builds on existing bilateral arrangements between some OTS members but would elevate mobility facilitation to a bloc-wide, legally binding framework for the first time. Expanding ID-card travel rights within the OTS would align the organisation more closely with regional integration models seen in other multilateral groupings, though the OTS operates under a distinct mandate focused on Turkic cultural and political solidarity. Member states would need to harmonise their respective border and residency regulations to implement such an agreement, a process that could involve considerable legislative adjustment in each jurisdiction.

OTS Plus Format For Third-Country Cooperation

President Mirziyoyev also put forward a structural proposal for the OTS to begin engaging with states and organisations outside its membership through a dedicated format he described as 'OTS Plus'. The mechanism would commence with meetings of sectoral ministers from member states and interested third parties, with a focus on implementing joint projects in the areas of trade, transport and investment (Gazeta.uz). The proposal reflects a broader ambition to position the OTS as an active participant in regional economic architecture rather than a purely inward-facing cultural and political bloc. No specific third countries or organisations were named as initial partners in the available summit reporting, though the trade, transport and investment focus suggests the format is oriented toward connectivity corridors relevant to Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

The OTS Plus concept mirrors formats used by other multilateral bodies, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (hereinafter: ASEAN) Plus frameworks, to engage dialogue partners without extending full membership. If adopted, the format would give the OTS a structured channel for economic diplomacy with states that share geographic or commercial interests with the bloc but do not qualify or seek full membership. The sectoral ministerial meeting model proposed by Mirziyoyev would allow cooperation to proceed on specific dossiers without requiring comprehensive political alignment between the OTS and partner states.

Fidan's Role And Türkiye's OTS Presidency

As host of the Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting, Hakan Fidan presided over the ministerial-level deliberations that preceded and accompanied the heads-of-state summit. Türkiye holds a central institutional role within the OTS, and Ankara's hosting of the 13th summit underscored the organisation's geographic and political anchor in the Turkish capital. Fidan also held bilateral meetings with counterparts on the sidelines of the gathering, according to the Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs, though the specific interlocutors from the OTS context were not detailed in the available official communications (Anadolu Agency). The foreign ministers' council session served as the preparatory body for the decisions subsequently endorsed at the summit level, including the Azimov appointment and the policy proposals tabled by member state leaders.

Institutional Trajectory And Next Steps

The three substantive outcomes of the Ankara summit, a new secretary general from Uzbekistan, a proposed multilateral travel agreement and the OTS Plus external cooperation format, collectively indicate that the organisation is in a phase of institutional consolidation and outward expansion. Azimov's appointment introduces fresh leadership to the secretariat at a moment when the OTS is being asked to take on a broader policy mandate. The travel and OTS Plus proposals, both originating from Tashkent, suggest that Uzbekistan intends to use its elevated institutional position to drive the bloc's agenda in practical directions.

The immediate procedural question concerns whether member states will open formal negotiations on the multilateral travel agreement proposed by Mirziyoyev, and which third nations or organisations Tashkent and Ankara will approach first under the OTS Plus framework. The new secretary general will take office with a full agenda: translating summit-level decisions into working-level processes requires both secretariat capacity and member state political will. The 14th OTS summit will serve as the next formal checkpoint for assessing progress on the commitments made in Ankara on 29 October 2026.