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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared Thursday that the Turkic world will leave its mark on the current century, speaking alongside Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev during a state visit that produced multiple bilateral agreements and underscored growing economic and cultural cooperation between the two nations.
"As long as we stand heart to heart, Allah willing, we are confident we will leave the Turkish world's mark on this century," Erdogan said at a joint press conference in Ankara following the fourth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council.
The visit comes as Türkiye celebrates three decades of formal relations with Uzbekistan, marked by the 30th anniversary of the Treaty of Eternal Friendship and Cooperation signed in 1996. Erdogan praised Uzbekistan's "pioneering role in regional integration in Central Asia" under Mirziyoyev's leadership.
Bilateral trade between the two countries has tripled over the past decade, Erdogan said, with Ankara setting a new target of $5 billion in trade volume. Turkish companies have invested more than $5 billion in Uzbekistan, ranking among the top three foreign investors in the Central Asian nation.
"As Türkiye, we are determined to do our utmost to contribute to the prosperity of Uzbekistan and our ancestral homeland, Central Asia," Erdogan said.
The two presidents signed a joint declaration alongside numerous agreements covering health, education, economic and financial collaboration, trade, investment, mining, energy, international transport corridors, and cultural cooperation for 2026-2027. Additional protocols addressed higher education, light industry development, and coordination between transport, culture, trade, finance and energy authorities.
Erdogan acknowledged Uzbekistan's swift response following the devastating Feb. 6, 2023 earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye. Uzbekistan proposed declaring Feb. 6 as the "Day of Remembrance and Solidarity for Disaster Victims" at an extraordinary summit of the Organization of Turkic States in 2023.
Beyond symbolic gestures, Uzbekistan committed to constructing 308 housing units in the earthquake-devastated city of Hatay as part of a 3,093-home project. Erdogan announced upcoming ceremonies with Mirziyoyev to hand over homes to earthquake survivors and to break ground on an Uzbekistan-built school in both Hatay and Istanbul.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the Uzbekistan State School in Istanbul took place via video conference from Ankara, with both presidents participating. The project stems from a reciprocal education initiative based on a land allocation protocol signed in November 2025, under which both countries allocated land to each other for school construction while retaining ownership and granting free usage rights.
The presidents highlighted their cooperation within the Organization of Turkic States, with Erdogan crediting Mirziyoyev for contributing to the declaration of Dec. 15 as World Turkic Language Family Day at UNESCO's 43rd General Conference in Samarkand last November.
Erdogan invoked the words of intellectual Ismail Gaspirali, referencing the goal of "unity in language, thought and action" for Turkic peoples. He also praised Uzbekistan's stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying Uzbekistan "has taken a principled stance regarding Israel's attacks on Gaza and other occupied Palestinian territories."
"At a time when our humanity is being tested, I once again sincerely congratulate my Uzbek brothers who courageously stand by the oppressed," Erdogan said, welcoming Mirziyoyev's decision to establish a fund providing social services for Palestinians in Uzbekistan.
First ladies Emine Erdogan and Ziroat Mirziyoyeva met separately in Ankara, touring the Ankara Palas museum featuring Ottoman and Republican-era works. Impressed by Anatolian embroidery techniques, Mirziyoyeva invited master trainers from Turkish institutes to Uzbekistan to teach local artists.
"Culture is one of the strongest bridges that brings societies closer together, keeps our shared memory alive, and builds lasting ties between nations," Emine Erdogan wrote on Turkish social media platform Nsosyal.
Erdogan emphasized that institutions from both countries are working together to achieve shared political, economic, cultural, humanitarian and regional goals. He noted that the Joint Strategic Planning Group recently met under foreign minister co-chairmanship, while Ankara hosted the first meeting of the 4+4 mechanism comprising foreign, interior and defense ministers alongside intelligence agency heads.
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