On 26 November 2025 in Astana, Merey Mukazhan, Deputy Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), delivered a speech at the workshop between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Türkiye organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) to advance best practices in emergency medical care.

In his remarks, Mr. Mukazhan underscored the necessity for swift, standardized and unified cross-border medical efforts among the Member States. He emphasized that the real test of security comes during a crisis, not during peacetime.

Deputy Secretary General highlighted the OTS's strategic progress in building regional resilience, pointing to the Agreement on the Civil Protection Mechanism signed at the 11th Summit of the OTS in Bishkek in November 2024 as a cornerstone for institutionalizing joint disaster and emergency management cooperation. To further this goal, he affirmed that the OTS is prioritizing the official establishment of the Turkic Emergency Medical Teams Network (TURKEMT), an initiative underscoring the OTS’s deep commitment to enhancing health security and disaster response capabilities across the Turkic World.

The event reinforced the strong collaboration between the OTS and the WHO, a partnership vital in turning strategic goals into operational frameworks, particularly through joint work outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)on Cooperation between the OTS and WHO/Europe as well as the Action Plan for the implementation of the MoU onCooperation between the OTS and WHO/Europe for 2024-2025.