On May 16, the 2nd Non-Governmental Cooperation Forum of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) member countries was held in Baku within the framework of the Baku Urban Development Week. Representatives of civil society, environmental organizations, and expert communities from Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and Hungary participated in the event.

Turkmenistan was represented by Mergen Kepbanov, Director of the Project Office of the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC), Orazgul Isgenderova, Assistant of the CAREC Project Office, Berkeli Atayev, Director of the Tebigi Kuvvat public organization, and Mubarak Gurbanova, Director of the Taze Zaman NGO.

The forum featured thematic discussions on sustainable development, ecology, urbanization, youth cooperation, and public diplomacy. A separate event on the program was the First Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan NGO Cooperation Forum, where participants discussed prospects for joint environmental initiatives, educational programs, and humanitarian projects.

Mergen Kepbanov, Director of the CAREC Project Office in Turkmenistan, delivered a presentation at the forum. He emphasized the growing role of NGOs in promoting sustainable development initiatives and intergovernmental cooperation. "It is public organizations that are capable of uniting people, promoting useful initiatives, supporting sustainable development, environmental education, youth projects, and humanitarian cooperation," Kepbanov noted.

Orazgul Isgenderova spoke at the Forum of Young Leaders of the ATC NGOs. She touched on youth engagement in environmental and educational initiatives and presented the Central Asian Environmental Leadership Program (CAELP), implemented by CAREC with the support of the OSCE.

Following the forum, its participants expressed interest in further developing partnerships and expanding intersectoral cooperation within the Turkic world.