Hosted by the Committee of Interethnic Relations and Friendly Cooperation with Foreign Countries under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the 6th meeting of the Ministers and Heads of Institutions in charge of Diaspora Affairs of the OTS was convened on 18 November 2024 in Tashkent.
During the meeting, Merey Mukazhan, the Deputy Secretary General of the OTS and the Heads of Institutions held in depth discussions on various important agenda items relating to the current state of the diasporas of the OTS countries. Parties elaborated on the efforts of the Diaspora Institutions to develop cooperation and coordination with their diasporas; the ways to enhance coordination and cooperation among the Diaspora Institutions of the OTS countries and among the Turkic diasporas; views and proposals to enhance the efficiency of the exchange of experience programs among the diaspora institutions and the diaspora capacity building training programs; the Turkic Diaspora Forum to be held with the participation of NGOs across the world; the organization of the OTS diaspora youth Forum; as well as on ways to ensure increasing participation of Turkic diaspora representatives at the youth, economic, and academic initiatives of the OTS, among others.
After extensive discussions, Parties adopted the “Diaspora Joint Activity Plan of the OTS for the year 2025” and agreed on the organization of next rounds of the meeting of the Ministers and Heads of Diaspora Institutions, Diaspora Exchange of Experience Program, Capacity Building Training Program, Turkic Diaspora Forum, Diaspora Youth Forum, and the Internship Program.
Furthermore, the Deputy Secretary General provided detailed information to the diaspora chiefs about the decisions of the Heads of State with respect to diaspora cooperation reflected in the Bishkek Summit Declaration, points they underlined in their addresses during the Summit, as well as stipulated in the Turkic World Vision-2040 and OTS Strategy 2022-2026 documents. The Secretariat also coordinated the discussions of the Parties about the “Diaspora Joint Activity Plan of the OTS for the year 2025”.
On the margins of the 6th meeting of the Ministers and Heads of Institutions in charge of Diaspora Affairs of the OTS, Heads of Diaspora Institutions also held bilateral meetings with each other and signed bilateral Cooperation Protocols.
