The 9th Meeting of the Ministers of Education of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), held on 8 June 2026 in Turkistan, Kazakhstan, delivered some of the most consequential decisions for higher education cooperation in the Turkic world in recent years. The meeting, attended by the Ministers of Education of the OTS Member States and OTS Secretary General Ambassador Kubanychbek Omuraliev, concluded with the adoption of a joint Communique.

Of particular significance for the university community, the ministers noted that membership of the Turkic Universities Union (TURKUNIB) has grown to 170 universities, and endorsed two landmark institutional steps: the establishment of a Permanent TURKUNIB Secretariat and the creation of a Dedicated Programme Fund for the Orhun Exchange Programme. The OTS has allocated one million US dollars to support the development of the exchange programme, which enables student and staff mobility among universities of the Turkic states.

The ministerial meeting also advanced a broad package of initiatives designed to build a common higher education space across the Turkic world. These include the establishment of a Turkic World Higher Education Data Bank; the creation of a Turkic World Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (TWAQA); diploma certification and equivalency mechanisms for TURKUNIB member universities; the establishment of a Turkic Universities League; expanded student and teacher exchange programmes together with a “sister school” practice; a Turkic States Education Information Network; and an Education Cooperation Working Group to carry the agenda forward.

On the margins of the meeting, the OTS Secretary General held bilateral consultations with the Minister of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan, Sayasat Nurbek, focusing on the practical steps required to establish the Permanent TURKUNIB Secretariat and the mobility fund, and with the Minister of Science and Education of Azerbaijan, Emin Amrullayev, on cooperation in education, science and academic mobility.

For TURKUNIB and its member universities, the Turkistan decisions represent a decisive step from cooperation to institutionalization. A permanent secretariat, a funded mobility programme, a shared quality assurance framework and recognized diploma equivalency mechanisms together form the backbone of an emerging Turkic World Higher Education Area – an agenda in which TURKUNIB member universities are both the principal contributors and the principal beneficiaries.

Photo: Organization of Turkic States (turkicstates.org)

Photo: Organization of Turkic States (turkicstates.org)

Photo: Organization of Turkic States (turkicstates.org)

Based on official OTS reporting: 9th Meeting of Ministers of Education of the OTS was held in Turkistan