The eighth summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, known as the Turkic Council, held in Istanbul last week was a critical juncture in institutionalizing the body and fit perfectly with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s domestic political agenda of consolidating his super-presidency.

The Nov. 12 summit, hosted by Erdogan, was attended by the presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, which are full members of the organization along with Turkey, as well as Turkmenistan’s president and Hungary’s prime minister, whose countries hold observer status at the body. The list of participants shows clearly that the organization is a club of authoritarian and populist leaders whose agenda is largely detached from issues such as democratic advancement, human rights and the rule of law.

The meeting focused on boosting cooperation within the organization and in the fields of energy, infrastructure and transport as well as the situation in Afghanistan and other regional and international developments.

The Turkic world represents an area of 4.5 million square kilometers (1.7 million square miles) with a population of more than 160 million and a combined gross domestic product of over $1.5 trillion. Erdogan and his counterparts are well aware of the potential of the group and appear keen on creating a nonaligned strongman brotherhood in which they would back each other up.