Türkiye, Azerbaijan vow to further improve ties

BAKU

Türkiye and Azerbaijan have reiterated their vow to further deepen their ties, especially in the fields of energy, transportation and the defense industry, during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s first overseas visit since the parliamentary and presidential polls.

President Erdoğan went to Azerbaijan from Turkish Cyprus late on June 12 to hold talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The two presidents held bilateral talks and later chaired their delegations’ meeting in which multiple ministers from both sides attended.

“We, Türkiye and Azerbaijan, as two states one people, will walk into the future. We will further develop the ties between Türkiye and Azerbaijan through trade agreement and other steps,” Erdoğan said at a joint statement with Aliyev.

The president stressed that he discussed with Aliyev how to improve the ongoing cooperation in the field of energy.

“One of the most important areas is energy. There are ongoing works regarding the TAP [Trans Adriatic] and TANAP [Trans Anatolian] pipelines. Our ministers discussed the details about our future cooperation,” Erdoğan said.

The Europeans are also eager to receive the Azerbaijani natural gas via Türkiye, Erdoğan stressed, “They rush and demand this. We will continue our best to this end.” Another key area is the defense industry, the president stated, adding that training will also be an important part of this cooperation.

Links between two countries strengthened

The two presidents also discussed the completion and opening of Zengezur corridor that would link Türkiye to Azerbaijan via Nakhichevan.

“This will give us two advantages: Land roads and rail roads between Iğdır and Nakhichevan will further strengthen links. In addition, this link will further develop the ties between Türkiye and Azerbaijan,” Erdoğan said.

President Erdoğan also informed that they agreed to establish the Turkish-Azerbaijani University in both countries. He also suggested that Türkiye may open its general consulate in Shusha in Karabakh’s province of Azerbaijan.

For his part, Aliyev, also underlined the importance of continued improvement of ties with Türkiye. “The unity between Türkiye and Azerbaijan is a great factor for the development of this region and its security. Our cooperation will further strengthen our force in the region and in the world,” he said.

On energy, the Turkish-Azerbaijani cooperation is not limited by oil and natural gas, Aliyev said, “We are also discussing possibilities on renewable energy.”

He also stressed that the volume of natural gas to be supplied to Europe will increase in the coming period.