Azerbaijani, Turkish FMs meet in Belgrade
By Vugar Khalilov
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has met his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Belgrade, Serbia, the Foreign Ministry reported on October 11.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the event dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement.
The ministers discussed bilateral cooperation and the current regional situation at the meeting. They also focused on cooperation between the two countries within international organizations.
During the 44-day war with Armenia in 2020, Turkey was among the first countries voicing political and moral support for Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan and Turkey tightly cooperate in many spheres.
The Azerbaijani and Turkish military periodically hold joint drills to improve interaction and communication between their army units. Military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey first emerged in 1992, with an agreement signed between the Azerbaijani and Turkish governments on military education and weapon equipment and deals to help strengthen the bond between the two nations.
The two countries have jointly completed giant energy and infrastructure projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, and TANAP.
Eleven agreements were signed within the Azerbaijani-Turkish business forum held in Ankara on February 18. The agreements envisage the development of the Azerbaijani-Turkish cooperation in the economic, trade, and other spheres. Moreover, on June 15, Azerbaijani and Turkish Presidents have signed a Shusha Declaration on allied relations between the two countries.
In the first eight months of 2021, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey amounted to $2.8 billion. The trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $4.1 billion in 2020.
The two countries set up a goal to bring the mutual trade turnover to $15 billion in 2023. It should be noted that so far, Turkey is Azerbaijan’s second-largest investor followed by the UK.
Additionally, Turkey was one of the first countries that expressed its interest and readiness to participate in the restoration of Azerbaijan’s liberated territories.
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