Türkiye's trade with members of the Organization of Turkic States increased by 6.6 percent in the first seven months of 2026 from the same period last year, reaching $10.1 billion.
The Ministry of Trade announced that trade with the organization's members had increased approximately 20-fold since 2002. This trade stood at $871 million in 2002 before rising to $16.9 billion by the end of 2025.
Kazakhstan ranks first
Kazakhstan was Türkiye's largest trading partner among the organization's members in 2025. Trade between the two countries was recorded at $7.8 billion.
Azerbaijan followed Kazakhstan with $4.3 billion, Uzbekistan with $3.1 billion and Kyrgyzstan with $1.6 billion.
Trade with observer states also increased
Türkiye's trade with the group of observer states comprising Turkmenistan, Hungary and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus increased by 6.8 percent in 2025, reaching $10 billion.
Trade with these countries amounted to $6.1 billion in January-July 2026, up 5.1 percent from the same period last year. Thus, annualized total trade with the organization's member and observer states rose to $27.8 billion as of July.
Emphasis on the Middle Corridor
The Organization of Turkic States was established in 2009 and adopted its current name at a summit held in Istanbul in 2021. Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are members of the organization, while Turkmenistan, Hungary and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus have observer status.
The ministry said that the eastward shift of global production and trade centers over the past 25 years had increased the strategic importance of the Turkic world in international trade and logistics networks. It also said that the Middle Corridor, known as the Caspian Sea-crossing East-West-Middle Corridor, offered important opportunities for deeper economic integration across the Turkic world.
The Ministry of Trade announced that it would continue working to strengthen economic and trade integration within the Organization of Turkic States, capitalize on the Middle Corridor's strategic advantages and reinforce the Turkic world's position in global trade.
