Establishment of «TURKPOL» Structure Proposed for Turkic States

Cooperation in the field of security and law enforcement among Turkic states may reach a new level. Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi has proposed establishing a structure similar to Interpol and Europol named «TURKPOL» within the framework of the Organization of Turkic States.

Notably, it was reported that the initiative was positively received by the interior ministers of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. However, «TURKPOL» has not been established yet — it is currently just a proposal for its creation.

What functions could «TURKPOL» perform?

The initiative was discussed on September 11 at the 3rd Meeting of the Ministers of Internal Affairs of the Organization of Turkic States held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

According to Mustafa Çiftçi, the main goal is to strengthen information exchange, coordination, and joint action capabilities in the fight against cross-border crimes among Turkic states.

He stated that «TURKPOL» can be envisioned as a structure similar to Interpol and Europol.

The main objective of the «TURKPOL» idea is to transition cooperation in the fight against crime and criminals to a stronger and more institutional basis.

Uzbekistan also welcomed the proposal

According to the Turkish Interior Minister, the initiative was very positively received by the interior ministers of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan who participated in the meeting.

This indicates that the idea may become one of the official discussions among Turkic states in the next phase.

At the same time, no information has been provided regarding final decisions on issues such as the exact powers, management mechanism, headquarters, or host country of «TURKPOL».

First, a «Council against Crime» will be established

The «TURKPOL» initiative is not an isolated idea.

During the meeting, the issue of establishing the Council against Crime proposed by the Turkish side was also put forward, and this initiative was included in the joint statement.

Within the framework of the Council, it is planned to strengthen cooperation in areas such as new-generation criminal groups, terrorism, drug-related crimes, illegal migration, cybercrimes, as well as illegal betting and gambling.

According to Çiftçi, the goal is to sign the founding agreement of the Council next month in Ankara during the summit of the heads of state of the Organization of Turkic States.

Turkic states are drawing closer in the security sector

The «TURKPOL» proposal shows that cooperation within the Organization of Turkic States is not limited to economic or cultural spheres alone.

Since cross-border crime is one of the most complex areas of modern security, rapid information exchange and coordination among law enforcement agencies of the states are of critical importance.

From this perspective, if the initiative is approved in subsequent stages, «TURKPOL» could become a new institutional mechanism for security and law enforcement cooperation among Turkic states.

For now, the most important aspect is this: the idea of establishing «TURKPOL» among Turkic states has been officially put forward, and Uzbekistan was noted among the countries that positively received this initiative.