Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Photo: Press Service of the President of Uzbekistan
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have inaugurated the “Uzbekistan” residential complex in the province of Hatay, which was devastated by a powerful earthquake three years ago. The ceremony took place during Mirziyoyev’s official visit to Turkey, the Uzbek president’s press service reported.
Speaking at the event, Mirziyoyev said the earthquake had been a severe ordeal for the Turkish people. From the first days after the disaster, Uzbekistan provided assistance to those affected, dispatching 100 rescuers and 70 medical workers to the area. As a result of search and rescue operations, 18 people were pulled alive from the rubble, around 200 bodies were recovered, and some 4,000 patients received treatment at a field hospital.
Mirziyoyev noted that, at Erdoğan’s initiative, Turkey has implemented large-scale recovery programs following the earthquake, particularly in housing construction. Uzbekistan also contributed to these efforts. In a short period, a modern residential complex comprising 24 multi-story buildings was completed, offering more than 300 apartments with modern infrastructure.
Erdoğan, in turn, said the “Uzbekistan” complex was not only a new home for families affected by the disaster but also a vivid symbol of the enduring friendship between the two nations. He expressed gratitude to the builders, engineers, and workers involved in the project, and together the presidents handed over apartment keys to residents.
The two leaders also launched the construction of an Uzbek school in the Bekiröy district of Istanbul. It will become Uzbekistan’s first educational institution abroad, enabling children from Uzbekistan living in Turkey to study in their native language and preserve national values, culture, and traditions. According to the presidents, the school will help bring the two brotherly peoples closer together and serve as an important center for education and youth development.
Earlier during Mirziyoyev’s visit to Ankara, the leaders held talks emphasizing that Uzbek-Turkish relations of friendship and comprehensive partnership have reached a qualitatively new level. By the end of 2025, bilateral trade exceeded $3 billion, the number of joint ventures reached 2,200, and total realized investments nearly hit $10 billion.
Around 100 flights operate daily between Uzbekistan and Turkey. With the participation of leading Turkish companies, a project portfolio worth $9 billion has been formed. Meetings of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council are held regularly; its fourth session took place on January 29 during Mirziyoyev’s visit to Ankara.
The presidents agreed to continue close cooperation across multiple areas, including increasing trade to $5 billion and expanding cultural and humanitarian exchanges—such as joint theater and film weeks, exhibitions, and the development of pilgrimage tourism. The governments of both countries are expected to approve a roadmap in the near future to ensure the timely and effective implementation of high-level agreements.
Following the fourth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, Mirziyoyev and Erdoğan signed a Joint Statement and a Decision on partnership mechanisms within the framework of comprehensive strategic cooperation.
In addition, a package of bilateral documents was endorsed, including:
✅ intergovernmental agreements on cooperation in healthcare, education, and military medicine; according to Uzbek Foreign Ministry spokesperson Amir Sultanov, one agreement provides for free access for Uzbek citizens to highly qualified medical care in Turkish clinics within an established quota;
✅ cooperation on the development of international transport corridors;
✅ cooperation and information exchange in nuclear safety, physical protection, safeguards, and radiation protection;
✅ cooperation in facilitating migration and the return of citizens to their home country;
✅ protocol between Uzbekistan’s Agency for the Development of Light Industry and Turkey’s Council of Higher Education;
✅ cultural cooperation plan for 2026–2027.
