TIF and UN ESCAP Convened a Meeting to Advance TurkIPAnet Cooperation

The Turkic Investment Fund (TIF) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) co-organized the “Regional Dialogue Session: Strengthening Regional Investment Attraction and Promotion Cooperation in Central Asia and Türkiye” on 11 February 2026 in Istanbul.

The session was opened by H.E. Baghdad Amreyev, President of TIF, and convened senior representatives from the Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan, alongside representatives of TIF, UN ESCAP, the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), the Union of Turkic Chambers of Commerce and Industry (TCCI), and the FDI Center.

Participants used the session to deepen practical cooperation among regional IPAs, align priorities across Central Asia and Türkiye, and agree on possible joint actions for 2026, with a focus on cross-border investment attraction and stronger coordination through the Turkic Investment Promotion Network (TurkIPAnet).

H.E. Baghdad Amreyev, President of TIF, in his speech, underlined the role IPAs play in supporting national economies at a time when investment competition has intensified, and he called for tighter coordination among Turkic IPAs. He presented TurkIPAnet as a significant platform for joint initiatives, backed by greater use of digital tools, and highlighted the importance of a unified investment portal under development by OTS, intended to strengthen coordination among national agencies through TurkIPAnet.

Ms. Heather Lynne Taylor-Strauss, Economic Affairs Officer in UN ESCAP’s Trade, Investment and Innovation Division, provided a briefing on UN ESCAP’s work with Central Asian economies, including its regional cooperation framework and ongoing engagement with IPAs.

Mr. Merey Mukazhan, the Deputy Secretary General of OTS, outlined trade and economy-related measures under the OTS umbrella, highlighted the roles of TIF and TCCI, and noted OTS’ readiness to work with UN ESCAP on foreign direct investment.

Mr. Ramil Babayev, General Director of TIF, noted that the dialogue supported closer coordination under TurkIPAnet. He highlighted the importance of practical cooperation and improved information exchange to advance regional investment promotion.

Mr. Andreas Dressler, Managing Director of the FDI Center, presented findings from the study “Regional Cooperation Strategy for Attracting FDI to Central Asia,” which provided a background for the following discussion on priority sectors, manufacturing value chains, and cooperation modalities reflected in the existing MoU that established TurkIPAnet.

The meeting closed with an agreed set of priority actions to take forward under the TurkIPAnet framework.