President Aliyev: TANAP to strengthen Azerbaijan-Turkey relations
A meeting of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who came to Azerbaijan to participate in the Global Baku Forum, was held in the capital on March 14.
Ameeting of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who came to Azerbaijan to participate in the Global Baku Forum, was held in the capital on March 14.
Speaking at the meeting, President Aliyev noted that the Azerbaijani-Turkish relations of friendship and brotherhood will further develop successfully.
“We are friends, brothers, we stand by each other in all issues, we support each other. This is the case today, and should always be such way. We are bound by very deep relations. We cooperate at a very high level in the political, economic, and all other spheres. Political ties are at the highest level. There are good results in the economic sphere. Trade turnover increased last year. Mutual investments are being made. Turkey invested in Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan invested over $10 billion in Turkey,” the head of state said.
He stressed that investment making is underway and will reach much greater indicators.
During the meeting, the importance of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project was also underlined.
“This year we will jointly mark the commissioning of the TANAP project. This is a historic project that is completing successfully. It will strengthen the relations of our countries and, at the same time, open up new opportunities for the countries using this project. Last year, we solemnly marked the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. Today, the route is already successfully operating. After Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, TANAP is our third historic project; our countries jointly implemented this project. That is, our cooperation has very good results in all spheres. These results are very important for our peoples, our countries and are of great importance for Eurasia,” President Aliyev emphasized.
In turn, Yildirim noted that Turkey and Azerbaijan are one nation, two states.
“The relations between the two countries are developing day by day. Mutual investments both in Turkey and Azerbaijan and trade are increasing, our cooperation in tourism sector is developing. We are not confined to this. At the same time, we work together for the development of the region's countries,” he said.
The prime minister went on to say that the projects implemented by Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey in the Caucasus region – the BakuTbilisi-Kars railway, the Baku-TbilisiCeyhan oil pipeline, TANAP, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline – are the ones that are of interest not only to our countries, but also to Europe, and they are the projects that provide energy security.
“The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project – the historical Silk Road – which will provide transportation to Turkey and Europe from the Far East, Central Asia through the territory of Azerbaijan, was realized upon your will and initiative, and the contribution of our president. This project that was a dream once, has now begun to serve the region, and at the same time it provides a great deal of logistical support to Nakhchivan,”Yildirim said.
He further held a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Artur Rasizade.
At the meeting, Rasizade voiced his satisfaction with the visit of the Turkish Prime Minister to Azerbaijan and participation in the 6th Global Baku Forum, organized by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center and scheduled for March 15.
Stressing that the Azerbaijani people closely follow the processes taking place in Turkey, he said the brotherly and friendly country is developing successfully. He said Azerbaijan and Turkey are always near each other.
In turn,Yıldırım expressed his satisfaction with the development of the fraternal countries. He said Azerbaijan and Turkey have jointly implemented projects of global importance. The Turkish PM said the large-scale joint projects implemented by Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia have made a significant contribution to the development of cooperation in the region.
He further noted that the commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, along with an important role in rehabilitation of the historical Silk Road, will play an important role in the development of international cargo transportation. He underlined the importance of mutual investments in developing the economic cooperation between the two countries.