JOINT STATEMENT OF THE MINISTERS OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF UZBEKISTAN AND TURKEY ON THE RESULTS OF THE 4TH MEETING OF THE JOINT STRATEGIC PLANNING GROUP

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Hakan Fidan co-chaired the 4th meeting of the Joint strategic planning group.

During the meeting, the foreign ministers emphasized the commonality of history, language and culture as the basis of fraternal cooperation and confirmed their commitment to further deepening multidisciplinary Uzbek-Turkish cooperation within the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

Foreign Ministers Bakhtiyor Saidov and Hakan Fidan discussed ways to further strengthen relations between Uzbekistan and Turkey in a wide range of areas, including trade and investment, energy security, regional connectivity, countering terrorism and other transnational threats, defense industry, culture, ecology, education and tourism.

Noted the great symbolic significance of the declaration of December 15 as World Family Day of the Turkic Languages during the 43rd session of the UNESCO General Conference, held in November 2025 in Samarkand, one of the ancient centers of Turkic civilization.

The ministers emphasized that the “4+4” mechanism represents a unique platform for cooperation between the two states in the field of security, military cooperation, intelligence and foreign policy. They expressed satisfaction with the results of the meeting of the “4+4” mechanism, held in Ankara with the participation of the ministers of foreign affairs, internal affairs and defense, as well as the heads of the intelligence services of Uzbekistan and Turkey, and noted the importance of implementing the updated Action Plan signed during the meeting.

The ministers noted with satisfaction the progress in the implementation of the Action Plan of the 8th meeting of the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) and emphasized the key role of the JEC meetings as a mechanism for developing specific cooperation in the trade and economic sphere between the two countries.

They also emphasized the importance of the Trans-Caspian East-West Middle Corridor as a sustainable and reliable transport and energy route route connecting Central Asia with international markets through Turkey, and also noted the importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line for the infrastructure of the Middle Corridor. The Ministers welcomed progress in the implementation of the Ankara Declaration following the Second Tripartite Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Trade/Economy and Transport/Infrastructure of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan on January 29, 2025 and reaffirmed their commitment to continue trilateral cooperation in this format.

The Ministers reaffirmed their determination to strengthen the Turkic world through its main cooperation platform - the Organization of Turkic States and other Turkic cooperation organizations.

Noted with satisfaction the joint efforts to expand cooperation within the Organization of Turkic States and other Turkic mechanisms and confirmed their support for joint activities to further develop political, trade, economic, cultural and human relations between member states and observers.

Reaffirmed their desire to deepen cooperation in within the framework of international and regional platforms such as the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).

Ministers agreed to maintain mutual understanding to fully support each other's candidacies for various international positions where possible.

They also discussed regional and international issues, including Afghanistan, Gaza, Ukraine and Syria.

Ministers expressed satisfaction with the frequency of high-level contacts, emphasizing that such visits contribute further deepening cooperation in various areas, and reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining this positive momentum.

The meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group was a timely opportunity to discuss preparations for the 4th meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, co-chaired by the Presidents of Uzbekistan and Turkey, which is scheduled to be held in Ankara.