Turkic states pursue growing economic and trade ties with EU, secretary general tells Euronews

The Organisation of Turkic States has significantly increased its combined force by cooperating in trade, agriculture, security, technology and other domains, the secretary general of the organisation Kubanychbek Omuraliev told Euronews during his visit to Brussels.

"If you look at our total GDP, it is $2.1 trillion, and total trade between our countries is $1.1 trillion," Omuraliev said. This joint economic growth is increasing “dynamically,” the ambassador added.

Omuraliev said that most of their Turkic states have strategic partnerships with the European Union, and that the time has come to step up ties beyond the bilateral framework.

"In Central Asia, our founder members in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan provide a true connectivity between the EU and Asia, including China. And every member state of our bloc has strategic bilateral relations with the EU," he explained.

According to Omuraliev, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's upcoming visit to Brussels on Friday shows how bilateral ties are strengthening.

The secretary general added that, within a multilateral framework, cooperation must be extended between the two blocs.

New trade route to Europe in the making

Omuraliev told Euronews that the so-called Middle Corridor, created by the Turkic states, is now their top priority, as it is an alternative connectivity network that bypasses current conflict zones.

This Middle Corridor, which follows the ancient Silk Road, connects Europe and Asia including China in a strategic manner and is a priority for the Turkic states in developing logistics to operate it.

"This is called the Middle Corridor, but this is if a historical look back is the Great Silk Road. This road crosses through our member states and the observers," Omuraliev said.

The Middle Corridor, which was planned before the war between Russia and Ukraine and the Middle East conflict, is now becoming a reality. It's also 2,000 kilometres shorter and a cheaper connection between the EU and China."

The secretary general said that Turkic states have the third-largest energy reserves in the world and also possess significant potential in renewable energy, opening up possible business cooperation opportunities for Europe.

The Organisation of Turkic States includes Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan, with Turkmenistan, Hungary and northern Cyprus as observers.