Establishing legal relationship with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has been one of the main focuses of the efforts undertaken by the OTS in the field of international cooperation.
In the Final Communiqué of 13th Islamic Summit Conference, article 201 was devoted to the
relationships between the two organizations in which the Conference “welcomed the
establishment of cooperation between the OTS and the OIC with a view to creating a legal
relationship in the future”.
The Organization of Turkic States signed on 18 April 2016 a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic
Countries (SESRIC), an affiliated organization of the OIC in Istanbul.
Furthermore, at the 43rd Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers held on 18-19 October
2016 in Tashkent, a paragraph was added to the final resolution in which the Foreign
Ministers of the OIC Member States “welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding
between the OIC and the Council of Turkic Speaking States (CTSS) which will pave the way to
obtain CTSS’ observer status in the OIC”.
Following the aforementioned OIC decisions, the MoU was finally signed by both Secretaries
General on the margins of the First OIC Summit on Science and Technology held in Astana, on
10 September 2017. The stated MoU is a further step paving the way for strengthening the
existing cooperation between the two organizations with concrete projects. The Organization
of Turkic States has initiated to acquire observer status in the OIC and with the support of
the Member States, which are concurrently the members of the OIC, expects to be granted with
observer status in the upcoming period. In addition, the Organization of Turkic States is
currently working on establishing a partnership with the Islamic Development Bank on
specific regional projects of mutual interest.
OTS Secretary General had a meeting with Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC) on 17 January 2022 in Jeddah. The heads of OTS and OIC underlined the need
for upgrading the level of cooperation between OTS and OIC and agreed to take steps toward
boosting the legal framework of relations between the two organizations.
Secretary General took part in the opening of the 48th Session of the Council of Foreign
Ministers (CFM) of the OIC, which was convened on the theme of “Partnering for Unity,
Justice and Development” on 22-23 March 2022 in Islamabad, Islamic Republic of Pakistan and
addressed the participants of the Session. A wide range of topics were addressed by the 48th
Session including ongoing security challenges in the world, regional conflicts, the
Palestinian issue, situation in Afghanistan and Jammu Kashmir, as well as combating
Islamophobia, fight against terrorism and defamation of religions, the status of Muslim
groups and communities in non-OIC countries.
Lately in September 2023, OTS Secretary General on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly
held a meeting with the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
on 22 September 2023 in New York. The Secretaries General discussed present circumstances of
the activities of the two Organizations, prospects of strengthening cooperation and the
process of obtaining observer status by the OTS in OIC. The Parties agreed to develop an
Action Plan to expand collaboration and implement joint result-oriented projects of mutual
interest for the Member States of the Organizations. They also emphasized the importance of
further expanding cooperation based on the common values, culture and traditions of the OTS
and OIC Member States.