ISTANBUL
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that he is confident that Turkic world will leave its mark on this century.
"As long as we stand heart to heart, God willing, we are confident we will leave the Turkish world’s mark on this century," said Erdogan, speaking at a joint press conference with his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Ankara.
Erdogan said that over the past decade, Türkiye tripled bilateral trade with Uzbekistan. "I believe we will soon reach our new $5 billion target," he added.
With investments exceeding $5 billion, Turkish companies already rank among the top three investors in Uzbekistan, Erdogan said, expressing hope to see even better levels.
“As Türkiye, we are determined to do our utmost to contribute to the prosperity of Uzbekistan and our ancestral homeland, Central Asia,” the president added.
Noting that they had just concluded the fourth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council with Mirziyoyev, Erdogan said he was pleased to host Mirziyoyev and his delegation in their “second home” on this occasion.
Erdogan said this year also marks the 30th anniversary of the Treaty of Eternal Friendship and Cooperation signed in 1996, and that brotherly Uzbekistan, under Mirziyoyev’s resolute and strong leadership and with its state tradition, plays a pioneering role in regional integration in Central Asia.
He said they closely follow Uzbekistan’s steadily rising profile on the international stage, take pleasure in it, and sincerely support it.
He said they have not only strengthened solidarity between Türkiye and Uzbekistan but elevated it to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership, and the agreements exchanged set the roadmap for the period ahead.
The Turkish president said institutions of both countries are working together to achieve all shared political, economic, cultural, humanitarian and regional goals.
Recalling that the Joint Strategic Planning Group recently met under the co-chairmanship of the foreign ministers, Erdogan said Ankara also hosted the first meeting of the 4+4 mechanism comprising the foreign, interior and defense ministers and the heads of intelligence agencies.
Erdogan said Türkiye and Uzbekistan work in close cooperation within the Organization of Turkic States, and that Mirziyoyev made significant contributions to the declaration of Dec. 15 as World Turkic Language Family Day at UNESCO’s 43rd General Conference held in Samarkand last November.
He said they will move forward with concrete steps toward the goal of “unity in language, thought and action,” as pointed out by intellectual Ismail Gaspirali, whom the late great Uzbek poet Abdulhamid Suleyman Colpan greeted with the words, “Our master who awakened us.”
Erdogan also emphasized that 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, in the person of the esteemed president,” he said. ”I also welcome my brother Mirziyoyev’s decision to establish a fund to provide social services for Palestinians in Uzbekistan.”
Unity in hardship between Türkiye and Uzbekistan
Stressing the deep bonds of solidarity between the two countries, Erdogan acknowledged that Uzbekistan was among the first to aid Türkiye after the Feb. 6, 2023 earthquakes, demonstrating their unity in hardship.
Recalling that, at the extraordinary summit of the Organization of Turkic States in 2023, Feb. 6 was declared the “Day of Remembrance and Solidarity for Disaster Victims” upon Uzbekistan’s proposal, Erdogan said Uzbekistan went further by undertaking the construction of 308 housing units within a project of 3,093 homes built in the earthquake-wrecked southeastern city Hatay.
Erdogan said the Uzbek neighborhood symbolizes the enduring brotherhood between Türkiye and Uzbekistan, announcing upcoming ceremonies with Mirziyoyev to hand over homes to earthquake survivors and to break ground on an Uzbekistan-built school in Hatay and Istanbul.
Bilateral agreements signed
Following bilateral and inter-delegation talks and the Fourth Meeting of the Türkiye-Uzbekistan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council at the presidential complex, a signing ceremony was held for various agreements between the two countries.
Erdogan and Mirziyoyev signed the Joint Declaration of the 4th Meeting of the Türkiye-Uzbekistan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council and the Decision on Cooperation Mechanisms for Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Relations between Türkiye and Uzbekistan.
Other agreements covered cooperation in health and education; economic and financial collaboration; trade, investment, free zones and special economic zones; mining and energy; international transport corridors; cultural cooperation for 2026–2027; higher education and light industry development; and enhanced coordination between transport, culture, trade, finance and energy authorities.
Groundbreaking ceremony for Uzbekistan state school
Meanwhile, a groundbreaking ceremony was also held for the Uzbekistan State School to be built in Istanbul, with Erdogan and Mirziyoyev joining via video conference from Ankara.
The project, led by Uzbekistan’s Preschool and School Education Ministry, is part of a reciprocal education initiative between the two countries based on a land allocation protocol signed in November 2025.
Under the agreement, Türkiye and Uzbekistan allocated land to each other for the construction of state schools, with ownership retained by the host country and usage rights granted free of charge, symbolizing the deepening strategic partnership and educational cooperation.
Meeting of first ladies
Separately, the first ladies of Türkiye and Uzbekistan, Emine Erdogan and Ziroat Mirziyoyeva, also met in Ankara.
Welcoming Mirziyoyeva at the entrance of Ankara Palas, Emine Erdogan toured the museum with her guest, which features distinguished works from the Ottoman and Republican eras.
Impressed by Anatolian embroidery techniques, Mirziyoyeva invited master trainers from Türkiye’s institutes to Uzbekistan to develop cooperation aimed at teaching these techniques to artists in her country.
“Culture is one of the strongest bridges that brings societies closer together, keeps our shared memory alive, and builds lasting ties between nations. With this perspective, I believe every shared moment will further strengthen the friendship between Türkiye and Uzbekistan, and I wish for our brotherhood to endure,” Emine Erdogan said on Turkish social media platform Nsosyal.