BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 15. The Organization of Turkic States (OTS) is hopeful of near-term consensus on services and investment free trade agreement, OTS Secretary General Kubanychbek Omuraliyev said in an exclusive interview with TurkicWorld ahead of the Informal Summit of the organization in Turkistan, Kazakhstan.
"The OTS continues to make significant strides in strengthening economic cooperation among its Member States. Currently, 58 cooperation mechanisms exist under OTS umbrella, which cover almost all areas in the economic field. Key mechanisms supporting these efforts include the $600 million Turkic Investment Fund (TIF), which supports mutual investments, stimulates innovation, and develops entrepreneurship, particularly for SMEs. Equally important is the Union of Turkic Chambers of Commerce and Industry (TCCI), which unites over 2 million companies and fosters practical cooperation among entrepreneurs. At the moment we are working on proper institutionalization of TCCI," he said.
Omuraliyev recalled that last year the Turkic Investment Promotion Network (TurkIPAnet) was launched within OTS, which will foster collaboration that drive investment, innovation, and sustainable development throughout the Turkic region.
"Additionally, last year we held the 1st meetings of the newly established Council of Central (National) Banks of the OTS and the Turkic Green Finance Council (TGFC), which aims to develop the capital market in the OTS region for the green economy, as well as enhance cooperation among OTS Member States in the field of monetary policy, payment systems development and financial technologies. Last year we also started full-fledged cooperation among the Financial Intelligence Units and Competition Authorities of OTS Member States, which will further strengthen our economic cooperation.
Besides, concluding an agreement on free trade in services and investments is also vital for increasing the intra-regional trade within the OTS and I am hopeful that the OTS Member States will reach a consensus in the near future on this matter. Moreover, after entry into force of the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), which was signed within the framework of the 11th Summit of OTS in Bishkek, we expect that the development of trust in the electronic transactions between OTS Member States will increase, which will pave the way to increasing the e-trade in OTS region," said the OTS secretary general.
Omuraliyev pointed out that all these initiatives within the OTS serve to integrate the economies of Turkic States, which has positive impact on deepening trade and investments in the region.
