Under the chairmanship of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the first meeting of the Council of Central (National) Banks of the member states of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) was held in Astana.
Opening the session, President Tokayev noted that during the recent informal summit in Hungary, OTS leaders reaffirmed the importance of deepening cooperation, particularly amid the transformation of the global economy driven by changes in tariff policies. He emphasized that these unprecedented changes present both challenges and new opportunities, requiring coordinated efforts in key sectors such as transport and logistics, agriculture, digitalization, and finance.
– Our collective share of global GDP has grown from 2.4% in 2010 to 3.1%, while the steady increase in international reserves across member states highlights the region’s growing macroeconomic resilience, – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev underscored.
The Kazakh President believes that expanding cooperation in the financial sector can serve as a catalyst for broader economic and investment partnerships, with central banks playing a pivotal role in this process.
– I am pleased to note that the Council’s agenda includes timely and relevant topics related to economic trends, monetary policy and the advancement of financial technologies, including central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Kazakhstan has made notable progress in this area. Cashless payments now account for 85% of all transactions in our economy. We were the first in the region to implement a central bank digital currency - the digital tenge. Soon, we will introduce new regulations to ensure the secure circulation of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and tokenized assets, – the President stated.
In conclusion, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev expressed confidence that expanding professional dialogue among central banks will lay a solid foundation for realizing the economic potential of the Turkic region.
The event also featured remarks by Timur Suleimenov, Chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan; Taleh Kazimov, Chairman of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan; Melis Turgunbayev, Chairman of the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan; Fatih Karahan, Chairman of the Central Bank of Turkey; Timur Ishmetov, Chairman of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan; Gábor Szőcs, Executive Director of the Central Bank of Hungary; and Kubanychbek Omuraliev, Secretary General of the OTS .
