Turkey pushes for a Turkic police network akin to Interpol
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said Turkic states plan to create a joint law-enforcement body, tentatively called TURKPOL, and aim to sign its founding pact soon.
At a gathering in Kazakhstan’s capital, Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi met with other OTS interior ministers and praised the deepening ties among Turkic nations. He outlined a proposal for a "Council for Combating Crime" that would coordinate efforts to track wanted persons and fight transnational offenses. The council’s founding agreement was first debated in July, and Çiftçi indicated that the framework could evolve into a comprehensive agency, tentatively named TURKPOL, similar to Interpol, EUROPOL or ASEANAPOL.
He added that the founding treaty is slated for signing at the upcoming summit once talks are finished. The OTS, originally formed by Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, has been rebranded since its 2021 Istanbul summit, and Turkey will hold the rotating presidency at an October meeting. Çiftçi also referenced recent advances in police training, crime fighting and migration management, as well as the Police Academies Platform of the Turkic States established last year.
Why it matters
A unified Turkic police agency could boost regional security and streamline cross-border crime fighting.
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