The chairmanship of the Turkic Universities Union (TURKUNIB) formally passed to Tashkent International University (TIU) for the 2025–2026 term at a handover ceremony held in Tashkent on 22 January 2025.

Professor Adalat Muradov, Rector of Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC), which concluded its term at the head of the Union, presented a symbolic key to TIU Director Iskandar Yuldashev, marking the transfer of leadership. The ceremony was attended by OTS Deputy Secretary General Dr. Mirvokhid Azimov, Advisor to the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of Uzbekistan Bobur Rakhimov, and heads and representatives of TURKUNIB member universities.

Speakers emphasized the priorities of the new term: strengthening academic collaboration among member universities, expanding student and faculty exchanges, and developing the Orhun Exchange Programme as the Union's principal mobility instrument. Dr. Azimov and Mr. Yuldashev signed a Road Map setting out the activities planned for the 2025–2026 chairmanship.

The handover set the course for what would become a landmark period in TURKUNIB's development. Under the TIU chairmanship, the Union went on to host its 8th General Assembly in Tashkent in October 2025, admitting 62 new member universities, and to advance the establishment of a Permanent Secretariat and a dedicated fund for the Orhun Exchange Programme – initiatives that took institutional shape over the months that followed.

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: Tashkent International University assumes Chairmanship of TURKUNIB for 2025-2026