Foreign ministers from the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) will gather in Istanbul on March 7 for an informal meeting aimed at strengthening cooperation among member countries and addressing pressing regional and global issues.

Axar.az informs the meeting will be hosted by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and attended by representatives from Azerbaijan, the current chair of the organization, as well as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

Officials are expected to review recent developments within the OTS and discuss priorities and steps for the coming period.

Comprehensive consultations are also planned on current global and regional challenges. On the sidelines of the meeting, Fidan is expected to hold bilateral talks with his counterparts. Delegation heads are also scheduled to be received collectively by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In his address, Fidan is expected to stress the importance of expanding cooperation among Turkic states at a time when the region and the international system face growing difficulties in producing peace, stability and justice. He is also expected to highlight the need for a unified stance within the Turkic world calling for an end to ongoing conflicts involving the United States, Israel and Iran, and attacks targeting third countries, urging renewed space for diplomacy.

The Turkish minister is further expected to underline the importance of preventing further escalation of tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan through dialogue and peaceful solutions. He will also call for an end to what Ankara describes as the unjust isolation imposed on Turkish Cypriots and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), encouraging OTS members to deepen political, economic and cultural ties with the community.

Fidan is also expected to outline Turkiye’s priorities regarding the planned “OTS+” format aimed at expanding cooperation with third parties within the organization.