Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi joined his counterparts from the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) for a meeting Thursday in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana. Çiftçi lauded growing cooperation among the countries and expressed hope that the Turkic world would have its own law enforcement body similar to Interpol.
Çiftçi said they had proposed establishing a new institutional mechanism among OTS countries to combat crime, adding that a “Council for Combating Crime” would provide a strong umbrella for cooperation in various areas.
Noting that the first meeting on the council’s founding agreement was held in July, Çiftçi said the mechanism would also enable joint efforts to identify wanted individuals.
He said the proposed structure could eventually evolve into a more comprehensive institution. “We believe that, like EUROPOL and ASEANAPOL, this mechanism could eventually become TURKPOL (the Turkic States Law Enforcement Cooperation Agency),” he said.
Çiftçi said they aim to sign the founding agreement at the next meeting once negotiations are completed.
