By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Uzbekistan has joined talks on a "Turkic ID" system that would let citizens travel between participating countries using national identity cards instead of passports, Uzbek outlet Daryo reported on August 7. Organization of Turkic States (OTS) Secretary-General Kubanychbek Omuraliyev confirmed the initiative was under discussion in a May 15 statement to Interfax-Kazakhstan.
Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are currently party to the discussions, according to Daryo, which cited Eurasiatoday. Hungary and Turkmenistan, which hold observer status in the OTS, have not announced whether they will join.
The proposal builds on arrangements already in place between some OTS members. Turkish citizens can enter the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Georgia and Azerbaijan using only their biometric ID cards, and Kazakhstan's identity card is accepted for travel to Kyrgyzstan and Russia. A bloc-wide Turkic ID would extend that kind of bilateral arrangement across the organization.
The OTS has not published a formal announcement on the initiative on its own channels, and no timeline for adoption has been set. Analysts have linked the proposal to Türkiye's wider push for integration among Turkic states, alongside the OTS's expanding role in transport and logistics projects such as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.
Sources: Interfax-Kazakhstan, Daryo (Eurasiatoday), Bosphorus News review and reporting.