Defence chief meets Turkey's ASELSAN company delegation
By Vafa Ismayilova
Azerbaijani Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov has met a delegation led by led by Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Turkey's ASELSAN Haluk Gorgun, the ministry reported on November 23.
At the meeting, Hasanov welcomed the guests and underlined important steps taken in the sphere of bilateral military and military-technical cooperation.
He added that friendly and fraternal relations between the Azerbaijani and Turkish leaders play a significant role in expanding all areas of bilateral ties.
Hasanov emphasized the high quality of technical equipment, which was produced by ASELSAN and applied during the Patriotic War.
The meeting also focused on new methods of conducting modern combat operations, as well as joint projects implemented by the two fraternal countries to further strengthen the technical equipment of Azerbaijani troops.
It was noted that the national army's development as a professional one equipped with the world's most modern weapons and military equipment, including the latest information technologies and wide communications systems will ensure the covert and operational control of Azerbaijani troops, increase their maneuverability and combat capability in general, the ministry said.
In early May 2021, Hasanov received representatives of ASELSAN along with the Turkish Defence Industry Executive Committee management, STM, ROKETSAN and HAVELSAN companies.
At the meeting, the sides discussed Azerbaijani-Turkish bilateral military cooperation and identified ways to implement joint projects between the two countries considering the new methods of conducting modern combat operations, especially the combat experience gained during the second Karabakh war.
On June 15, the two countries signed a memorandum of alliance that cemented the existing military, political and economic cooperation.
The Shusha Declaration on Allied Relations that President Ilham Aliyev and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed during the first official visit to Shusha eight months after Azerbaijan’s victory in the war with Armenia, also focuses on defence cooperation.
It affirms joint efforts by the two armies in the face of foreign threats. The declaration also pledges joint efforts for the restructuring and modernization of the armed forces. Moreover, the two nations affirm to encourage the execution of joint projects with the aim of developing capabilities in the field of sea, air, and space.
In an interview with Turkey's Anadolu Agency on September 27, President Ilham Aliyev said that the signing of the Shusha Declaration raised bilateral relations to an even higher level.
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