On May 6 this year, there was a video-conference involving the ministers of trade, economics, and the heads of the customs authorities of the member states and observers of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States (CCTS).

General Secretary of the Turkic Council B. Amreev, Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan M. Jabbarov and Chairman of the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan S. Mehdiev, Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan R. Dalenov, Chairman of the State Revenue Committee under the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan M. Sultangaziev, Minister of Economy of Kyrgyzstan S. Mukanbetov and Chairman of the State Customs Service under the Government of Kyrgyzstan A. Torutaev, Minister of Trade of Turkey R. Pekkan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Péter Szijjártó and Director General for Customs of the National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary K. Bakai attended the conference. Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan S. Umurzakov and Chairman of the State Customs Committee M. Azimov represented the Uzbek side.

The attendees discussed the current state of trade and economic relations between Member States and observers of the Turkic Council under restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The attendees of the videoconference shared their experience in practical measures for an integrated and coordinated response to the negative social and economic consequences of the pandemic, which were discussed by the heads of states during extraordinary video summit of the Turkic Council held on April 10, 2020.

They also considered the progress in the joint work on the preparation of the Action Plan to mitigate the negative impact of COVID-19 on trade and economic relations between the CCTS countries. They discussed the possibility to accelerate the completion of the establishment of a joint investment fund under the CCTS and further activate the operation of the Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry as an additional mechanism expanding cooperation between business communities of the CCTS countries. The attendees emphasized a close cooperation in the digital economy. In particularly, they noted the development of e-commerce, the preparation of a special investment promotion program for member states and observers of the Turkic Council, the measures to ensure food security, reduce customs barriers and export tariffs for the main consumer and medical goods.