Organization of Turkic States: Historic East–West Summit in Budapest + Photos

Hungary is ready to strengthen its strategic cooperation with the Turkic states. To this end, the Organization of Turkic States is holding its summit in Budapest on May 20–21.

The informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States held at the Varkert Bazaar in Budapest (Photo: Hungarian PM’s General Department of Communication/Zoltan Fischer)

The informal summit is taking place  at the Varkert Bazaar in Budapest on May 21. The Organization of Turkic States is becoming an increasingly important player in the political and economic landscape of Central Asia and Eurasia.

Organization of Turkic States: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (back to camera, right) delivers a speech at the informal summit (Photo: Hungarian PM’s General Department of Communication/Zoltan Fischer)

The goal of the Budapest summit is to strengthen Hungary’s role as a mediator between East and West and to allow the representatives of member states to define the organization’s future strategic directions.

In the image below (from left to right): Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States Kubanychbek Omuraliev,Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hungaran Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Kubanychbek Omuraliev, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Viktor Orban, Sadyr Japarov, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and Ilham Aliyev (Photo: Hungarian PM’s General Department of Communication/Zoltan Fischer)

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto stated earlier that cooperation with the Turkic states helps further guarantee Hungary’s energy supply security and prevent Brussels' decisions from doubling Hungarian families' utility costs.

Cover Photo: The informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States held at the Varkert Bazaar in Budapest (Photo: Hungarian PM’s General Department of Communication/Zoltan Fischer)