Erdogan: Turkic Investment Fund will contribute to the economic integration of the Turkic world

“We will never forget the solidarity, unity and cohesion shown by the Turkic world in the catastrophe we have experienced.” said President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

President Erdogan made a statement regarding the extraordinary summit of the Organization of Turkish States (OTS) in Ankara.

Thanking the heads of member countries who attended the summit, President Erdogan said: “We will never forget the solidarity and unity that the Turkic world demonstrated in the catastrophe we experienced. We also welcome the secretaries and heads of the Turkish World Cooperation Organizations and valuable members of the Council of Elders in Ankara. I am very pleased that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which joined our Organization as an observer at the summit in Samarkand, is among us today for the first time.”

“The extraordinary summit that we hosted today was on the topic of Disaster Management and Humanitarian Aid. On February 6, Türkiye hitted by two earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6, which were rare in the world. These earthquakes caused serious loss of life and destruction in 11 provinces, which are home to 14 million citizens of our country. We have lost more than 49 thousand people, including citizens of OTS member countries. Then our cities in the earthquake area were flooded. I express my condolences to their families and friends,” President Erdogan continued.

He noted that about half a million people are involved in search and rescue and restoration work.

Erdogan stressed that the OTS countries responded the fastest to the call for help, took the fastest action and most sincerely shared the pain.

“The summit participants decided to raise the cooperation between the relevant institutions to a higher level and create a civil defense mechanism for the OTS. Also, the signing of the founding agreement of the Turkic Investment Fund is one of the tangible achievements of the summit. I am confident that the Turkic Investment Fund, based in Istanbul, will contribute to the economic integration of the Turkic world,” said President Erdogan.

The summit on the topic “Disaster Management and Humanitarian Aid” was initiated by Azerbaijan against the backdrop of the consequences of the devastating February earthquakes in Türkiye.

The Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States was established in 2009. In November 2021, at the summit in Istanbul, the organization was named the Organization of Turkic States.

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan are main members of OTS. TRNC, Turkmenistan and Hungary participate as observers.