The OTS has established close relations with the Economic Cooperation Organization since 2012.
At the ECO Summit held on 16th October 2012, in the Summit
Declaration, the Heads of State “welcomed the endorsement by the Council the observer status
to then called Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States.[…]”. Observer/Dialogue
Partnership status was granted to the Turkic Council for an initial period of 3 years, which
is renewed every 3-year periods.
The Secretariat actively participates ever since in the Regional Planning Council (RPC) and
relevant meetings at the level of Ministers upon invitation from the ECO Secretariat. In
addition, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the ECO and the OTS was signed on 23rd
September 2014 in New York enabling deeper relations between two organizations.
At the 23rd Council of Ministers Meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization hosted by
the Republic of Tajikistan on 16-17 April 2018 in Dushanbe, the Council of Ministers
approved the renewal of the observer status of the OTS for the second time to the Economic
Cooperation Organization.
It should be noted that the ECO, where all Member States of the OTS are also members, is the
only organization that the OTS has observer status so far.
The two organizations individually work on areas such as economy, transportation, tourism,
customs, and education yielding positive results for regional development. There is ample
room to work on joint projects in boosting cooperation in the region. In this regard, the
current observer status of the OTS to the ECO provides both sides with the opportunity to
exchange views on the issues of mutual interest and act together with the view to
contributing in regional development.
On the other hand, continuing to participate in the ECO meetings will further enable the OTS
to interact with other players in the region, while being instrumental in informing at
length the international community of its vision and mission as well as its projects and
activities based on the principles of comprehensive and inclusive regional cooperation.
The Secretary General of the OTS and President of ECO CCI signed the MoU on cooperation
between the Turkic Business Council and ECO CCI on the margins of the 25th Executive
Committee Meeting of the ECO CCI. The MoU aims at enhancing cooperation between both
organizations and identifying areas of mutual interest with a view to promoting close
cooperation, and consultation on matters of common concern in order to contribute to the
economic and social development of the OTS and ECO Member States, as well as establishing
and maintaining effective, systematic consultation, cooperation, coordination and exchange
of useful information between the Parties.
In April 2019 the delegation of the OTS Secretariat headed by the Secretary General paid a
working visit to the Secretariat of the ECO in Tehran. The visit was conducted to seek
avenues for collaboration and revitalize the scope of cooperation enshrined in the
Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed between ECO and the OTS in 2014. Based on the
mutual understanding reached by the Secretaries General, the Parties agreed to convene
experts of both Organizations once a year to follow-up implementation of the targets
identified in the work program and discuss new steps to be taken in the forthcoming
years.
Latey in September 2023, OTS Secretary General participated and addressed in the Informal
Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in the
capacity of the observer organization in New York.
The Informal Ministerial meeting was attended by the Ministers and high-ranking government
officials of the ECO Member States and Observers.
Emphasizing the unique opportunity to participate in an open and constructive dialogue with
ECO, Secretary General noted that two organizations are the symbol of regional collaboration
that promotes economic growth, social development and political stability in the region.
Secretary General invited the ECO Member States to expand the joint implementation of
projects in the field of economy, transport, energy, agriculture, tourism and others in
order to achieve the positive outcomes of the regional development.
He also referred to the implementation of concrete tasks outlined in the joint “Work Program
for 2023-2024” developed between the OTS and ECO, proposed to strengthen the healthcare,
environment, aerospace, human resources and other priority areas of the mutual interest.