17:12

The 11th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkiye was held today in Ankara, the capital of Turkiye.

Axar.az reports that the leadership of the respective state institutions of both countries participated in the meeting co-chaired by the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov and the Vice President of Turkiye Covdet Yilmaz.

At the meeting, it was stated that relations between Azerbaijan and Turkiye have reached the highest peak of strategic partnership and alliance today as a result of the joint efforts of Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Deep gratitude was expressed to the leadership of Turkiye and all the brotherly Turkish people for the political and moral support provided to Azerbaijan during the 44-day Patriotic War. It was emphasized that the two countries cooperate closely in international organizations and always support each other's position.

It was brought to attention that Azerbaijan attaches great importance to the Organization of Turkic States (TDT). It was reported that in President Ilham Aliyev's speech at the swearing-in ceremony, this organization was evaluated as the main international institution for Azerbaijan, and the continuation of efforts within the TDT was set as a foreign policy priority for the government.

The dynamics of development of relations between Azerbaijan and Turkiye in various fields, especially economy, trade, investment, transport-transit, energy, industry, agriculture, humanitarian and other directions were appreciated. Satisfaction was expressed that Turkiye is one of the main partners of Azerbaijan both in import and export, as well as in trade turnover. In 2023, mutual trade will increase by 31% to a record 7.65 billion. It was reported that it has reached US dollars, the volume of trade turnover is 15 billion. It was stated that the governments are determined to make joint efforts in order to achieve the goal set by the heads of states regarding the transfer to the US dollar.

In this regard, the importance of the decisions and agreements reached at the meetings of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission was emphasized.

Confidence was expressed that the expansion of the scope of the Preferential Trade Agreement, as well as the implementation of the Action Plans signed between the two countries, will further increase the trade turnover. The important role of huge projects created as a result of Azerbaijan-Turkiye cooperation in ensuring Europe's energy security was emphasized.

The construction of the Igdir-Nakhchivan Natural Gas Pipeline has been assessed as one of the urgent issues on the energy agenda. The development of cooperation in the field of transport was highly appreciated, and it was brought to attention that in 2023, the total volume of transported goods between the two countries increased by 42.5%. It was noted that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is of great importance in terms of expanding the transit opportunities of the two countries. The soon commissioning of the railway after the expansion works will enable the volume of goods transported by the railway to reach 5 million tons.

The importance of the implementation of the Kars-Nakhchivan railway project was emphasized in terms of providing a direct railway connection between the main part of Azerbaijan and Turkey. It was brought to the attention of the Turkish side that the Azerbaijani side has already started reconstruction of the relevant railway line in Nakhchivan. All issues on the agenda in the field of transport are resolved in a positive way. Some road taxes and duties collected from Turkish car carriers entering Azerbaijan have been canceled. At the same time, the number of permit forms exchanged for car transportation has been significantly increased.

At the meeting, mutually beneficial cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkiye in all directions, including investment, renewable energy, agriculture, water resources management, especially the protection and efficient use of water resources of the Araz and Kura river basins, the fight against climate change, preparation for COP29, issues related to the development of healthcare, culture, tourism and other areas were discussed. The reports of the members of the delegations of both countries on the issues on the agenda were heard.

In the end, Prime Minister Ali Asadov and Vice President Covdet Yilmaz signed the Protocol of the 11th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on economic cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkiye and the Action Plan covering a number of areas of cooperation.

Between the two countries, as well as "Agreement on cooperation in the field of water management between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Republic of Turkey", "Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of a joint working group on trade facilitation between the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Turkey", "Food Safety Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan" and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Turkiye on cooperation in the fight against animal diseases" and the "Memorandum of Understanding between the Small and Medium Business Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (KOBIA) and the Foreign Economic Relations Committee (DEIK) Turkey-Azerbaijan Business Council" were signed. .

Later, Prime Minister Ali Asadov and Vice President Covdat Yilmaz made statements to the press.