Crossroads Asia | Diplomacy | Central Asia

Kazakhstan’s Turkic Relations Between Trade, Culture, and Defense

During last week’s visit by multiple leaders of Turkic states to Kazakhstan, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev celebrated their shared cultural heritage but remained reluctant on the expansion of defense cooperation.

A red and white trail of fighter jets over Astana marked the beginning of a two-day diplomatic focus on Turkic relations. The display accompanied the state visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 14.

The following day, both Erdogan and Tokayev travelled separately to the southern city of Turkistan. Together with the presidents of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Northern Cyprus, they gathered for an informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS).

Held back-to-back, Erdogan’s state visit and the OTS summit carried overlapping themes, including humanitarian aid, trade, and cultural cooperation. Yet a key difference emerged: discussions on joint weapons manufacturing, agreed during the bilateral visit on May 14, were notably absent from the following day’s summit. For Tokayev, this was a topic to avoid in the broader multilateral setting.

While some OTS members advocate for deeper military cooperation, the Kazakh president has consistently pushed back against such ambitions. This leaves the scope of collaboration within the organization somewhat undefined, particularly on security-related issues.

Following a ceremonial welcome for Erdogan in Astana, the two presidents entered negotiations focused on expanding bilateral trade, with emphasis on agriculture, digitalization, logistics, and defense industry cooperation. Tokayev announced Kazakhstan’s readiness to increase exports to Turkiye by more than $630 million.

Several agreements were signed during the visit, most notably a joint venture to produce the Turkish-developed Anka drone. The deal marks a further step in the UAV cooperation initiated in 2022.

The two leaders also signed memorandums on humanitarian cooperation and cultural exchange, with the visit concluding with a Declaration of Eternal Friendship and Expanded Strategic Partnership. Despite its grand title, the declaration’s practical impact remains limited. Kazakhstan has signed similar agreements only with Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan – the last being signed in 1998.

In Turkistan the following day, the........

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