The countries of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) have more than 20 million diaspora community across the world. Due to this huge potential, the critical role of diasporas in promoting the image of the OTS countries as well as raising awareness abroad on issues of common concern to the Turkic people is deemed highly significant. This general will has been highlighted by the Heads of State in the Summit meetings from the outset and reflected in the Summit Declarations of the OTS, Turkic World Vision-2040 and OTS Strategy 2022-2026 documents.

With this understanding, OTS has so far convened six meetings of the Ministers and Heads of the Institutions in charge of Diaspora Affairs of the OTS and seven Contact Group meetings comprising the experts of the relevant institutions of the OTS countries to discuss further actions and cooperation among the Member States. Pursuant to the collective efforts of the OTS countries, the “Turkic Diaspora Joint Activity Strategy” was adopted. The Strategy document set the purposes and main priorities of the Turkic diasporas as well as the basic assessments about the future course of action. Member States also produces annual “Joint Action Plans” for the Turkic diasporas in order to generate awareness on collective behavior towards the developments taking place in their environments. Furthermore, three “Turkic Diaspora Forums” were organized with the participation of hundreds of diaspora NGO representatives from across the world, academics, diaspora business people, members of press and students where they held discussions on the current realities faced by our diasporas, their future needs and expectations to maintain better coordination among themselves.

Based on the main guidelines specified at the above-mentioned basic documents of the Organization, the OTS has been organizing regular “Exchange of Experience” and “Internship” Programs among the central Diaspora Institutions of the Member and Observer States. Such meetings allow the respective institutions to share information and experience on matters such as their legal bases, institutional structures, activities within the country and abroad. Programs also allow the OTS countries to exchange extensive information on legal, social, economic, cultural, and educational dimensions of the lives of the Turkic diasporas as the other relevant state institutions make presentations about their activities for the diaspora communities. Two “Capacity Building Training” Programs were held in Berlin and New York in order to bring together the representatives of various diaspora NGOs abroad to secure more coordination and cooperation among them.

OTS celebrates the “3 October-Turkic States Cooperation Day” and “Nowruz” with receptions hosted by an Embassy of the chairman country of the OTS in one of the capitals abroad, with the participation of the diplomatic staff and diaspora representatives of the Member and Observer States as well as the corps diplomatique and the officials of the host country. Similar celebrations are conducted by the Representation Office of the OTS in Budapest as well.

OTS brings together the diaspora youth, businessmen, and academics in certain special programs to initiate better coordination among them, and with the purpose of engaging them with stronger bonds in the ongoing cooperation with the framework of the OTS. For that matter, OTS started the Diaspora Youth Forum initiative where the youngsters from the Turkic diaspora in the third countries are gathered in the Member States in special camps to take stock of their main needs and expectations, as well as to discuss the future course of action to ensure more coherence among the Turkic diaspora youth.