Objectives

Organization of Turkic States attaches great importance to economic cooperation among the Turkic States and to their economic ties with the rest of the world. Mutually beneficial economic cooperation, increasing the intra-trade among Turkic States and ensuring the economic diversification through SMEs development is the sound basis and the core of Turkic cooperation at large.  The Secretariat, in close cooperation with the Ministries in charge of the Economy and other relevant institutions of the Member States, regularly organizes training and experience-sharing programs on various subjects, regularly brings together members of the private sector of the Member States by organizing technical visits for investors/businessmen, holding Business Forums and meetings of the Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI), and round tables for the businessmen with the aim of further strengthening economic ties among its members.

Mechanisms

Since the establishment of the Organization, a total of 12 ministerial and 14 working group meetings on economic cooperation have been organized under the umbrella of the OTS, which drives the economic cooperation in line with the key strategic documents "Turkic World Vision - 2040" and the "OTS Strategy for 2022-2026".

• Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry TCCI is a fundamental mechanism of economic cooperation carried out under the umbrella of the OTS and assigned by the Council of Heads of State to develop sustainable business programs and projects to increase intra-trade figures among the Member States. The Statute of the TCCI has been signed by the Heads of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the OTS Member States at a ceremony, that took place on the margins of the Astana Economic Forum on 17 May 2019 in Astana. After signing of its Statute TCCI, with its headquarters in Istanbul, was officially established in 2019. TCCI is composed of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry and business communities of the Member and Observer States of the OTS.

• Turkic Investment and Development Fund

The main aim of the Fund with initial capital of $ 500 mln. is increasing mutual investment opportunities among the Member States, as well as developing entrepreneurship, especially in Small and Medium-sized businesses (SMEs), by creating new job fields and strengthening innovation and ultimately giving impetus to the economic and social development among the Member States. Therefore, the creation of the Turkic Investment and Development Fund endows the OTS with a powerful financial instrument capable of mobilizing the economic potential of Member States.

At the 9^th Summit of the OTS, held in Samarkand on 11 November 2022, the Presidents of Turkic States have signed a special decision on the establishment of Turkic Investment Fund and appointed its President. The Agreement Establishing the Turkic Investment Fund was finalized and signed at the Extraordinary Summit of the OTS in Ankara on 16 March 2023. Following the finalization of the ratification process, the Agreement Establishing the Turkic Investment Fund entered into force on 24 February 2024. The Turkic Investment Fund held its first Board of Governors meeting on May 18, 2024 in Istanbul. The launch of the Turkic Investment Fund represents a historic milestone in the journey towards greater economic cooperation and sectoral integration among Turkic states.

• Trade Facilitation Committee

At the 9^th Summit of the OTS, held in Samarkand on 11 November 2022, the Presidents of Turkic States adopted the OTS Trade Facilitation Strategy. In line with the provisions of this document the Trade Facilitation Committee (TFC) was established within the OTS.  The TFC is entrusted with the crucial task of implementing the strategies outlined in the OTS Trade Facilitation Strategy, which aim to streamline the trade processes, reduce barriers, and foster a more conducive environment for trade among Turkic States.  The TFC is currently working on adaptation of a comprehensive work plan on implementation of the Trade Facilitation Strategy.

Framework

The legal foundation for economic cooperation within the OTS is built on several key documents:

• Declaration of the First Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, signed on 21 October 2011 in Almaty, Kazakhstan;
• The Statute of the Joint Turkic Chambers of Commerce and Industry (TCCI), signed on 17 May 2019 in Astana;
• Decision of the Council of the Heads of State of the OTS “On the establishment of the Turkic Investment Fund (TIF)”, signed on 11 November 2022 in Samarkand
• “The Agreement Establishing the Turkic Investment Fund” signed on 16 March 2023 in Ankara;
• “Trade Facilitation Strategy of the Organization of Turkic States” – decision was adopted on 11 November 2022 in Samarkand
• “Initiative on the Establishment of the Turan – Special Economic Zone with a Special Status in Turkistan Region of the Republic of Kazakhstan” – decision was adopted on 11 November 2022 in Samarkand
• “Memorandum of Understanding among the Government bodies of the Member States of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States regarding the Information and Experience Sharing in the Field of Various Types of Economic Zones”, signed on 10 September 2021 in Baku, Azerbaijan
• “Cooperation Protocol among the relevant institutions of the Member States of the OTS in the field of Metrology” was adopted on 3 November 2023 in Astana.

Projects

As economic cooperation is the sound basis and the core of Turkic cooperation, the OTS is working on several practical projects aimed at further strengthening economic ties among its members.

As the Agreement Establishing the Turkic Investment Fund entered into force on 24 February 2024 and the Statute of the Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) has been signed by the Heads of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the OTS Member States on 17 May 2019 in Astana - these two projects of the OTS already started to function as a sustainable mechanisms within the OTS.

• Digital Economy Partnership Agreement

In line with the Agreed Minutes of the 12^th meeting of the Working Group (WG) on Economic Cooperation of the OTS held on 9 September 2021 in Baku, the Member States, emphasizing the importance of e-commerce for their countries and contribution to a closer economic relationship between the Turkic States, have supported in principle the initiative of Secretariat to conclude a multilateral agreement on digital trade within the OTS. In this regard, the Ministry of Tarde of the Republic of Türkiye prepared and submitted the draft “Digital Economy Partnership Agreement” (DEPA) to the Member States of the OTS. 

Declarations of the Summits of the OTS held in Istanbul (2021), Samarkand (2022) and Astana (2023) also stated the urgent need to create a favorable and attractive environment for expanding trade (intra-trade) relations among the Member and Observer States through introducing new trade instruments such as digital economy (particularly e-commerce) and fourth industrial revolution. The DEPA was signed in November 2024 during the 11th OTS Summit in Bishkek.

• TURANSEZ

During the 8^th Summit of the OTS held on 12 November 2021 in Istanbul, the Presidents welcomed the invitation of Kazakhstan for the Turkic States to participate in the "TURANSEZ" Special Economic Zone to be established in the Turkistan region of Kazakhstan, aimed at strengthening economic cooperation and connectivity among the Turkic States; in particular through the International Trans Caspian East-West Middle Corridor. Referring to the Declaration of the Istanbul Summit 2021, on 30-31 May 2022 the Secretariat arranged a field visit by the members (from Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan) of the Sub-Working Group of the Heads of special economic and/or industrial zones of the OTS Member States to Turkistan for getting familiar with the potential of TURANSEZ as well as a series of online meetings of the Sub-Working Group to discuss the concept note on creating the “TURANSEZ”. At the 9^th Summit of the OTS, held in Samarkand on 11 November 2022, the Presidents of Turkic States adopted a decision on the “Initiative on the Establishment of the Turan – Special Economic Zone with a Special Status in Turkistan Region of the Republic of Kazakhstan”. The discussions on the TURANSEZ concept note were finalized by parties on 8 February 2023. The inauguration ceremony of TURANSEZ is expected to be held in near future.

• Turkic Green Finance Council

At the meeting of the OTS Council of Heads of State with theme of "Green technologies and smart cities in the digital era" held on 12 November 2021 in Istanbul, President of Kazakhstan H.E. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stressed the importance of developing the green capital market for the implementation of joint projects related to green technologies. In furtherance of the idea, at the OTS Summit in Samarkand President Tokayev initiated the establishment of Turkic Green Finance Council (TGFC) for development of the capital market in green economy. Currently, the Member States of the OTS are discussing the adaptation of the draft of the concept paper, declaration on establishment, as well as statute of the TGFC prepared by the Kazakh side.

• Research Center for Trade Cooperation of Turkic States

The initiative of establishing the Research Center on Trade Cooperation under the OTS was proposed by President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, H.E. Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the 8^th Summit of the OTS held on 12 November 2021 in Istanbul. “Research Center on Trade Cooperation of the Organization of Turkic States” is aimed at developing concrete proposals and a joint action plan on the elimination of trade barriers, the widespread introduction of electronic commerce, and increase the volume of exports and imports in the Turkic region. The concept of the establishment of the Center was finalized and at the 12^th Meeting of the Ministers of Economy and Trade of the OTS the concept was approved.

• Council of Central (National) Banks

The creation of the Council of Central (National) Banks of the Member States of the OTS was initiated within the organization. The Council will aim at strengthening effective cooperation among the central (national) banks of the OTS Member States and conduct joint consultations and research in the fields of monetary policy, financial stability, payment systems development, financial technologies and other areas of mutual interest. In this regard,the “Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of the Council of Central (National) Banks of the Member States of the Organization of Turkic States” was signed during the 11th Summit held in Bishkek in November 2024.