The Turkic world - a united center of power

At the initiative of Azerbaijan, non-governmental organizations of member countries of the Organization of Turkic States gathered on a unified platform in Baku for the first time on November 24.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in his welcome message to the participants of this highly representative event called the forum a manifestation of the growing potential of Turkic states and their day-by-day strengthening positions on the global stage, emphasizing that this forum was also dictated by the need to put forward more ambitious goals, increase joint efforts, deepen cooperation in all spheres, and create flexible mechanisms for these purposes.

More than 500 representatives of civil society from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Hungary and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus participated in the event. This also indicates the interest of the represented countries in closer interaction.

Two panel discussions were held in Baku as part of the forum. At the panel session "Zangezur Corridor: A Bridge Uniting Turkic Geography," issues of preparation for new conditions after the opening of the Zangezur Corridor were discussed, as well as initiatives of civil society institutions of the Turkic world in this context.

Another panel was devoted to the topic "I Forum of Cooperation of Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan NGOs."

Large-scale and multifaceted

"The first-ever Solidarity Forum of non-governmental organizations of member countries of the Organization of Turkic States is an important step in this direction. I cordially welcome you to the Solidarity Forum of non-governmental organizations of member countries of the Organization of Turkic States," wrote Ilham Aliyev, emphasizing that our friendly and brotherly peoples, committed to the ideas of peace, security, stability, progress in the region and the world, are united as a strong family by common ethnic roots, history, language, culture, traditions and values, which determines the emergence of Turkic states as a unified center of power.

It is also important to note that Azerbaijan currently chairs the Organization of Turkic States and in this regard seeks to strengthen public communication between civil society institutions of member countries. This is evidenced by the consecutive meetings in Baku of the Council of Presidents of Red Crescent Societies of OTS member countries, the NGO solidarity forum, and following them - the meeting of ministers and high-ranking officials of OTS responsible for media and information, and the media forum of OTS member countries. All this demonstrates the scale and versatility of work in this field, writes the newspaper "Caspian".

Source of common joy and pride

Today the Turkic world is experiencing a period of its rise. And the source of common joy and pride for Turkic peoples is the Victory in Karabakh achieved five years ago. In his greeting, the head of state expressed confidence that "the Karabakh and East Zangezur economic regions currently being reconstructed, and the upcoming opening of the Zangezur Corridor will play an important role in the development and strengthening of cooperation between Turkic states."

In this regard, Azerbaijan is ready to announce joint grant competitions for NGOs in the fields of history, culture, ecology, climate policy and other areas on a bilateral and multilateral basis with member countries of the Organization of Turkic States, and to support projects that strengthen mutual communication.

NGOs of Turkic states face other tasks as well. For example, continuing the work related to the cultural integration of Turkic peoples in accordance with contemporary challenges, which was started by the First Turkological Congress, whose 100th anniversary will be celebrated in 2026.

Additionally, the coordinated activities of NGOs of the Turkic world within the UN and other international institutions, their unification on a single platform, can make a great contribution to common work and achievement of common goals.

These are precisely the goals that the Solidarity Forum of NGOs of the Turkic world was meant to serve.

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