Azerbaijan highlights importance of common information space across Turkic world

The development of a common information space among the countries of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) remains an important area of Azerbaijan's cooperation with the Turkic world.

According to Report's Kazakhstan bureau, Rasim Baghirov, Director of the International Relations and Document Management Department of Azerbaijan's Media and Broadcasting Council, made the remarks at the 8th Meeting of OTS Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Media and Information in Astana.

Baghirov said that under President Ilham Aliyev's leadership, strengthening ties with the Turkic world remains one of the main priorities of Azerbaijan's foreign policy, while cooperation in the media and information sphere is an important component of these relations.

He noted that the regular exchange of reliable news and broader interaction among news agencies and television and radio broadcasters make it possible to transform a shared cultural and historical heritage into concrete joint projects. As an example, he cited the Alliance of Turkic News Agencies (ATNA).

Baghirov also emphasized the importance of jointly produced documentaries, cultural and educational programs, exchanges of media projects and professional visits by journalists.

"Such activities promote mutual understanding and help convey the position of the Turkic world to international audiences," he said.

The council representative paid particular attention to the use of artificial intelligence. He noted that new technologies are expanding opportunities for the production, translation and dissemination of information, while the emergence of AI-generated images, audio and video content is making it more difficult to verify the authenticity of material.

According to Baghirov, the use of AI in the media and government communications should be accompanied by human oversight, editorial responsibility and the protection of confidential information.

He said cooperation among OTS countries could facilitate the exchange of experience in combating information threats and improving fact-checking.

Baghirov also spoke about the development of Azerbaijan's bilateral media cooperation with Türkiye, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, including the implementation of memorandums, organization of media tours, and educational and professional exchanges.

He stressed that resilience to disinformation depends on strong professional media, timely public information and citizens' media literacy.

In this regard, he said it is important to support regional editorial offices and train specialists in information verification, digital security, multimedia production and the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

Baghirov also highlighted the role of the Shusha Global Media Forum and the first media forum of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), held in Baku on October 1, 2026, in promoting international dialogue on trust in information and media cooperation.