At the 8th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States held in November 2021 in Istanbul, the Heads of State initiated the establishment a disaster response unit under the name of “the OTS Civil Protection Mechanism” to conduct joint initiatives for search, rescue and rehabilitation to mitigate the effects of natural disasters and contribute to the recovery.

During the 1st Ministerial Meeting on Emergency Management of the OTS held in Ankara in December 2022, the Ministers agreed to continue the work with a view of the soonest establishment of the Mechanism.

At the OTS Extraordinary Summit held on 16 March 2023 in Ankara, the Heads of State signed the Decision on the establishment of the Civil Protection Mechanism of the OTS and instructed the relevant authorities to conclude the Agreement on the Establishment of the Civil Protection Mechanism of the OTS.

The 2nd Ministerial Meeting on Emergency Management of the OTS was held in September 2023 in Baku. The disaster and emergency management training “Baku-2023 International Exercise” was held in Baku within the 2nd Ministerial Meeting. The exercise provided the opportunity to observe the activity of the OTS Civil Protection Mechanism in reality.       
The Agreement on the Establishment of Civil Protection Mechanism of the OTS was signed on 6 November 2024 in Bishkek.