ANKARA 

Extraordinary summit of leaders of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) started in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed both the leaders and OTS Secretary-General Kubanychbek Omuraliev at the presidential complex.

Ahead of the summit, the leaders attended a family photo shoot.

The summit is being attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyzstan's President Sadyr Japarov, Uzbek leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and chairman of the People’s Council of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

The TRNC, which obtained an observer status during last year’s summit in Uzbekistan, is participating in an OTS summit for the first time.

During the meeting, whose theme is Disaster-Emergency Management and Humanitarian Assistance, the leaders will elaborate on multilateral cooperation and coordination mechanisms in the fight against disasters, and hold consultations on current challenges in the region.

The OTS, formerly called the Turkic Council, is an international organization comprising prominent independent Turkic countries that work together to elevate relations and union among themselves.

Its members are Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, while EU state Hungary, Turkmenistan, and the TRNC have observer status.