Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Turkistan, Kazakhstan, on Friday during the Informal Summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), the Turkish Communications Directorate reported.

The leaders discussed Türkiye-Uzbekistan bilateral relations, as well as regional and global issues, according to a statement shared by the directorate on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal, The Caspian Post reports, citing TRT World.

During the meeting, Erdogan said the two countries would continue efforts to enhance cooperation in all fields, particularly in the defence industry and trade, the statement added.

Erdogan also said he believes Türkiye and Uzbekistan will increase solidarity on international platforms, and invited Mirziyoyev to the OTS Summit and COP31, both to be held in Türkiye.

The closed-door meeting, held at the hotel where Erdogan was staying, was also attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

Earlier, Erdogan was welcomed at Hazret Sultan International Airport by Kazakh State Counselor Erlan Qarin, Turkistan Region Governor Nuralgan Kucherov, Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry’s Almaty Representative Janibek Zharaskanovich, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Ankara Yerkebulan Sapiyev, and other officials.

First lady Emine Erdogan and the accompanying Turkish delegation also arrived in Turkistan with the president.

Erdogan is attending the OTS Informal Summit at the invitation of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Alongside Erdogan, the summit will also be attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President Tufan Erhurman.

On Thursday, Erdogan held a one-on-one meeting with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Independence Palace and attended the sixth meeting of the Türkiye-Kazakhstan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council.

Following the talks, the two leaders held a joint press conference and later attended the closing ceremony of the Türkiye-Kazakhstan Business Forum.

The Turkish president departed Astana for the city of Turkistan in the morning hours to participate in the OTS Informal Summit.