On October 7, 2025, the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov paid a working visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan to participate in the XII Summit of Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS).

At the Qabala International Airport, Hero-Arkadag was warmly welcomed by the officials of Azerbaijan and members of the Turkmen delegation.

The Summit of Heads of State of the OTS was held at the Heydar Aliyev Congress Center. Upon arrival at the Center, Hero-Arkadag was warmly welcomed by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

Before the start of the Summit, a joint photo of the heads of delegations of the OTS member countries took place.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan expressed his gratitude for the invitation, noting the importance of the OTS in strengthening solidarity among peoples who share a common history, language, culture, and spiritual and moral values.

Then, the floor was given to the participants of the Summit.

At the beginning of his speech, the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan expressed his sincere gratitude to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan for the invitation to the Summit and for the hospitality, noting that the OTS is an international structure uniting friendly peoples and is based on their common history, culture, spiritual heritage, and language.

He emphasized the important role of the OTS in strengthening unity, friendship, and brotherhood between the countries of the Turkic world, as well as in coordinating joint efforts at the regional and international levels.

In his speech, Hero-Arkadag emphasized the common historical, cultural, and spiritual values of the peoples of the Turkic states.

The significance of the political legacy of the Turkmen people, whose heritage dates back to the Oghuz tribes, was empasized. Hero-Arkadag noted that over the past centuries, the Turkmen people, together with other brotherly peoples, have come a long way in history, not only affirming the principles, traditions, and customs of statehood, but also making a significant contribution to the expansion of relations and cultural exchange, and the establishment of various trade routes in the Eurasian space.

“Over the past centuries, the peoples living in these states have maintained political, economic, and cultural ties. An example of this is the Great Silk Road,” Hero-Arkadag highlighted.

It was noted that Turkmenistan attaches great importance to strengthening multilateral and bilateral cooperation with the OTS countries and is making great efforts to strengthen mutually beneficial ties based on equality, mutual respect, and strategic partnership.

In this context, Turkmenistan is actively implementing major projects in the fields of energy, transport, logistics, communications, and others.

In addition, the importance of cultural and humanitarian ties within the framework of the OTS was emphasized.

In this regard, Hero-Arkadag announced a proposal to strengthen activities for arranging joint cultural events. It was noted that the Days of Culture of Turkmenistan are planned to be held in Azerbaijan in the near future.

Efforts to preserve the carpet-weaving traditions of the two peoples and revive the ancient art of horse breeding were noted. Hero-Arkadag emphasized the expansion of ties in the fields of science, education, and sports.

Hero-Arkadag underlined that, following the guidelines of the ancestors, Turkmenistan is ready for closer and more constructive cooperation with all the states of the OTS to achieve the noble goals set.

During his speech, the National Leader of the Turkmen people noted that, on upon initiative of Turkmenistan, the UN General Assembly had declared 2025 as the “International Year of Peace and Trust” and invited all participants of the Summit to the International Forum dedicated to the 30^th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s neutrality, scheduled to be held on December 12 of current year in Ashgabat.

In conclusion, Hero-Arkadag wished everyone good health and great success in their work, and wished the brotherly peoples of the Turkic states well-being, prosperity, as well as peaceful and happy life.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked Hero-Arkadag for his meaningful speech and proposals, which are of great importance in further strengthening friendly and fraternal relations between the Turkic states.