President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan departed for Kyrgyzstan on Monday to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), where he is expected to hold talks with world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Erdoğan traveled to Bishkek at the invitation of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov for a two-day visit. First lady Emine Erdoğan and a Turkish delegation accompanied him.
The Turkish president is scheduled to address an expanded-format session of the summit on Tuesday and hold a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines.
Türkiye in recent years signaled an interest in deepening its ties with the organization. Erdoğan has previously raised the prospect of Türkiye eventually seeking full membership, a move that would make the NATO member the first country in the Western military alliance to join the SCO.
The Bishkek summit is expected to focus on international and regional security, economic cooperation and efforts to strengthen the organization, according to Kyrgyz authorities.
