The OTS furthered its cooperation with UN Office for South-South Cooperation by an MoU signed on 4 April 2016 in Istanbul.
The Heads of both institutions had bilateral meetings in New York and Istanbul in the course of 2016 and 2017 to discuss the ways and means to empower collaboration within the Global South.
The Secretariat participated in the training on ”UN Catalytic Support to South-South & Triangular Cooperation in Implementing the Agenda 2030”, organized by the United Nations System Staff College Knowledge Centre for Sustainable Development in cooperation with the UNOSSC in December 2016 and in October 2018 in Bonn. The Secretariat attended the UNOSSC Capacity Building Workshop on 30-31 March 2016 in New York where a presentation on the activities of the OTS for the benefit of the Global South was made.
As a result of this mutually beneficial partnership, the UNOSSC became one of the partners of the International Conference on the Role of Youth in P/CVE co-organized by the OTS and the UNOAC on 20-21 October 2016 in Istanbul. Furthermore, one of the brainstorming sessions in the conference was dedicated to the question of “How the South-South Cooperation could be improved in P/CVE”.
Secretariat also attended the Global South-South Development (GSSD) Expo 2016 on 31 October-3 November 2016 in Dubai.
The Secretariat contributed to the preparation of the UNOSSC Report on “South-South and Triangular Cooperation: Towards Sustainable Human Development in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States” where the OTS is referred to as one of the key regional actors contributing to the expansion of the South-South and triangular cooperation. Furthermore, upon the proposal of the UNOSSC, the OTS-UNOSSC Joint Report entitled “South-South in Action: How the Turkic Council Uses South-South Cooperation to Promote Regional and Global Development” was prepared by an independent author. The report was launched on 25 September 2017 in New York on the margins of 72nd Session of UNGA with the attendance of Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, High Representative of UN Alliance of Civilizations, Cihan Sultanoğlu, Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Assistant Administrator, Deputy Permanent Representatives and Representatives of the OTS Member States to the UN, Consul General of Türkiye as well as representatives of other countries’ missions to UN and officials of the UN entities. The report presented a true summary of the efforts that the Council carries out through the lenses of South-South cooperation and constituted a nutshell of the OTS’s efforts for the achievement of the SDGs putting a special emphasis on SDGs number 4, 5, 8, 9, 16 and 17.
The Secretariat was among the implementing partners of the Global South-South Development (GSSD) EXPO 2017 organized by the UNOSSC and hosted by the Government of the Republic of Turkey on 27-30 November 2017 in Antalya. The Secretariat actively participated in the preparation and realization process of the said EXPO that was attended by more than 800 participants from over 120 UN Member States.Secretary General Hasan delivered a speech on 27 November 2017 in Antalya at the high level opening ceremony of the EXPO. At his speech, he expressed that the OTS is privileged to take one of the implementing partners of this global event while underlining the firm commitment of the OTS to work with UNOSSC in promoting and implementing South-South Cooperation in the region. In their keynote speeches, both Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Foreign Minister of Turkey and Director of UNOSSC and Envoy of UN Secretary General on South-South Cooperation Jorge Chediek expressed their appreciation to the OTS for its valuable support in the realization of the EXPO 2017. Following the opening ceremony, the speakers opened the exhibition and made a tour in the exhibition area where the OTS took place with its booth, and the photo exhibition on the Silk Road heritage of its Member States.
In the framework of the GSSD EXPO 2017, the Secretariat co-organized the High Level Round Table entitled “City Experiences on South-South Cooperation in Tourism for Sustainable Development” with UNOSSC, Silk Road Cities Alliance and China International for Economic and Technical Exchanges on 30 November 2017 in Antalya. Meanwhile it also organize the Solution Forum entitled “Good Practices of South-South Cooperation for Implementation of SDGs: Development Through Transformation” on 28 November 2017 in Antalya, in partnership with the UNDP. It was also represeted at the Directors General Forum within the GSSD EXPO 2017. At the end of the Forum, the UNOSSC presented the GSSD 2017 Appreciation Award to the OTS for its contribution to the succesful realization of this global event. Former Secretary General Hasanov also participated in the opening ceremony of the UNOSSC 3rd Regional Networking Forum dedicated the theme “Scaling up Southern Development Solutions through Advanced Youth Leadership” organized on 26 November 2017 in Antalya prior to the GSSD EXPO 2017.
Moreover, Mr. Jeyhun Shahverdiyev, Project Director of the OTS participated in Pre-Expo Side Event- UNOSSC Fifth Regional Networking Forum for Arab States, Europe and CIS and Global South-South Development EXPO 2018 that was held on 27-30 November in New-York.
