Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Ankara hosted the 3rd session of Azerbaijan-Turkey high-level strategic cooperation council on November 13.

As part of his first official visit to a neighboring country, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attended the meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The sides hailed the bilateral relations in a variety of fields, particularly in politics, economics, and energy.

The Azerbaijani president and the Turkish Premier stressed the importance of implementing joint projects.

They also noted the significance of furthering cooperation between the relevant ministries of the two countries.

After the meeting, the two countries signed several documents, particularly a declaration on the results of the Azerbaijan-Turkey high-level strategic cooperation council.

The documents signed between the two countries also included a protocol in the field of science and technology, a Memorandum of Understanding on strengthening science, technology, industry and entrepreneurship, an agreement on international combined cargo transportation, a cooperation agreement on security, an agreement on mutual activities of workforce, and a cooperation agreement on labor, social security, and employment.

Following the signing ceremony, President Aliyev and the Turkish Prime Minister held a joint press conference.

The Azerbaijani president said that Azerbaijan will abolish visas for certain categories of Turkish citizens.

"We have decided that at the first phase, the visa-free entry of Turkish citizens to Azerbaijan will be ensured on the basis of a list which will be compiled by the Ministry of Economy," President Aliyev said.

He also stressed that every country, including Azerbaijan, has its visa policy.

"However, the visa-free regime will be imposed as an exception for scholars, athletes, businessmen, famous people, and Turkish citizens closely related to Azerbaijan," the president said. "This issue will be resolved soon, and I am sure there will be no need to talk about these issues in the future."

The president went on to say that the 21st century will be the century of the Turkic world, and Azerbaijan and Turkey have undertaken the leadership in this direction.

"I am very happy to be back in fraternal Turkey. I am very grateful for your congratulations on the presidential elections. And naturally, after the presidential elections, my first official visit by tradition was to Turkey. This is a tradition. We have created this tradition, and I am sure that those who will succeed us will remain loyal to it," the Head of Azerbaijani State said.

According to President Aliyev, two issues were resolved during the meeting, demonstrating that Azerbaijan and Turkey's respect, love and commitment towards each other are so strong that any issue can be easily settled.

President Aliyev said Azerbaijan and Turkey should develop interstate relations, cultural ties and also relations between entrepreneurs.

The president went on to note that Turkey was the first country that recognized Azerbaijan's independence.

"From that day on we have been constantly feeling the Turkey's support. This gives us additional strength. We always rely on Turkey and trust it, especially where a very important issue is concerned -the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," President Aliyev said. "We are confident that Turkey will always be on our side in this matter. As you know, for many years, our lands have been under occupation. Four UN Security Council resolutions are not fulfilled, and the injustice continues. Today, in some cases, they speak about the inaction of the Security Council, that is, it is accused of not taking decisions. However, in our case a decision has been made, but there are simply no mechanisms to implement it".

According to him, Azerbaijan should be even stronger to restore its territorial integrity.

"We will do it. We are working on these issues, and the Turkish-Azerbaijani relations strengthen us further," President Aliyev added.

The Head of State noted that seeing the development of Turkey's defense industry made a strong impression on him yesterday.

"Today Turkey is an international authority in this sphere too. The military equipment manufactured in Turkey meets the highest standards of the world," President Aliyev said.

According to the president, the common history and cultural ties that link Azerbaijan and Turkey are the solid foundation of their relations.

"We are constructing a beautiful building on this foundation, and as my dear brother noted, there are large multinational projects in this building. We did not just limit our work to the transportation of Azerbaijan's oil to Turkey by building the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. This was the opening of a corridor, thanks to which large-scale projects are carried out today," the Azerbaijani President said.

President Aliyev congratulated the Turkish Prime Minister on the realization of the Marmaray project.

"This is your historical merit. It will forever remain in the history among the works, which you do for the Turkish people," he said. "While implementing this project, you connected the continents to each other, brought people together and provided long-term profits for Turkey. Naturally, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is also an integral part of this great project".

President Aliyev noted that great things await Azerbaijan and Turkey in the future. The implementation of the TANAP project will completely change Europe's energy map, and Turkey and Azerbaijan will play a role in it.

According to him, the TANAP project is one of the largest energy projects in the world, and Turkey and Azerbaijan have undertaken the responsibility, and political and financial burden.

"With our joint efforts, we demonstrated a leadership in this regard too," President Aliyev said.

President Aliyev also touched upon the issue of mutual investments, calling it a great indicator.

The largest investments Azerbaijan has made and will make in the future are the investments in Turkey, President Aliyev said.

"The investments that are made in Azerbaijan accelerate our economic development. These are investments made on the basis of mutual trust, friendship, and brotherhood. The ongoing projects confirm my remarks when I say that brotherhood is the basis of our relationship. Brotherhood and friendship are unbreakable and unshakable. The 21st century will be the century of the Turkic world. In this regard, the role of leadership was undertaken by Turkey and Azerbaijan. I am confident that we will continue to attain great success with our joint efforts." President Aliyev concluded.

Turkish Premier Erdogan, in turn, said that his country aims to increase the trade turnover with Azerbaijan up to $15 billion.

Erdogan said at present the trade turnover between the countries has reached $4.2 billion and this figure is expected to increase to $15 billion.

He also said that Turkey and Azerbaijan are implementing strategically important economic projects, and they are expected to develop in the future.

"The Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline project is one of the most important economic projects of Azerbaijan and Turkey," Erdogan said.

The Turkish PM also said that the issues discussed between the two countries included the construction of a gas pipeline from Turkey's Igdir province to Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, and the construction of a railway from this province in Turkey to Nakhchivan.

He also touched upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and said that Ankara will continue to support Azerbaijan in this regard.

"The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is as significant for Turkey as it is for Azerbaijan; it represents a problem for Ankara too," the Turkish PM said.

"The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of the main issues of Turkish foreign policy. It is impossible for Ankara not to pay attention to this matter," Erdogan said.

Turkish PM said Ankara will continue to provide unconditional support to Azerbaijan to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The OSCE Minsk Group has a great responsibility for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Erdogan said.

The Turkish PM went on to add that the political relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey are at a perfect level and there are no problems between the two countries.