Uzbekistan heads to the Ankara summit with four priorities: 85-plus initiatives, the Middle Corridor and a trans-Caspian power cable

Tashkent is preparing a package of proposals on the economy, transport, energy and culture for the Organization of Turkic States summit in Ankara on 29–30 October. Uzbekistan has put forward more than 85 initiatives since joining the organisation; Umarbek Nuriddinov, a lead researcher at the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President, called it a key tool for widening the country's foreign economic ties.

On the economy, the goal is a gradual free-trade zone and simpler, digitised customs procedures. Uzbekistan's trade with the Turkic states reached $9.6 billion in 2025, about 12% of its total foreign trade. Member states together have more than 170 million people and a combined GDP above $2.3 trillion.

Landlocked Uzbekistan wants to link the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway to the Middle Corridor through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye; Uzbek cargo on that route has doubled in five years. In energy it backs a power cable along the Caspian seabed with Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan and a green-energy partnership, while its cultural proposals include an Alisher Navoi International Prize and a Modern Silk Road tourism project alongside work with TURKSOY and the Turkic Academy.

Another novelty being prepared for the summit is a Turkic States Football Cup, planned to be held every two years.