Turkish rulers highly appreciate Azerbaijan's G20 attendance
By Mushvig Mehdiyev
Azerbaijan will join as a full member all events to be held within the Group of Twenty, which will reportedly be held in Trukey's Antalya city this November.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said the talks on this platform would focus on two major directions including sherpa (special representatives of states and governments) and finance.
The Turkish city of Izmir is currently hosting a second meeting on sherpa, attended by the Azerbaijani delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev.
Furthermore, a delegation consisting of the representatives of certain ministries (Economy, Labor and Energy Ministries) and the Attorney General's Office are also taking part at the meeting in Izmir.
Discussions throughout the summit are reportedly dedicated to the issues of global economy, finance regulations, taxes, employment, trade, as well as anti-corruption, development and energy.
Turkey has invited Azerbaijan to attend the G20 summit, as part of its chairmanship over the union of the world's largest economies.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this January that Turkey had the right to invite a state to the summit, so, using this opportunity, Azerbaijan was invited to attend the G20 summit.
"This year, Turkey will host the G20 summit and Azerbaijan will be represented at the event,” Erdogan said.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, for his turn, said that the invitation to the G20 summit was “a great honor for Azerbaijan.”
"Our countries have very close interstate relations, like no other states. Turkey is a powerful state, and as it enhances this power, Azerbaijan’s strength will be equally growing,” Aliyev said.
From December 1, 2014, Turkey has led the G20, which includes the 20 largest national economies in the world - Argentina, Australia, Brazil, the UK, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Canada, China, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the US, Turkey France, South Korea, Republic of South Africa, Japan and the European Union.
Turkey will for a whole year stand at the helm of the global economy.
The 2015 Summit of the G20 will be the tenth annual meeting that will be held in Antalya - southwestern Turkish province - on November 15-16, 2015. Turkey officially took over the presidency of the G20 from Australia on December 1, 2014; China will preside over the organization in 2016.
Azerbaijan’s participation in the G20 summit shows the high level of the country’s economy, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ismail Alper Coskun said recently.
He said Turkey held no discussions on inviting Azerbaijan to the summit and the idea to invite Azerbaijan arose immediately, once it was announced that Turkey, as a G20 chairing country, had the right to invite one country to the summit. He added that Azerbaijan would be represented at the highest level throughout the summit.
Earlier last year, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said Azerbaijan's participation in the G20 summit had a particular importance for Turkey, as Ankara envisions to enable a dialogue among the G20 countries and the least developed countries worldwide.
Member of the Azerbaijani parliament, Asim Mollazade believes that such participation at the G20 summit is a crystal clear reflection of Azerbaijan's economic and political achievements.
As for Mollazade, the projects implemented by Azerbaijan in the spheres of energy and communication, as well as the restoration of the historical Great Silk Road network, where the country acts as a hub, stand among the key factors behind the invitation to such a high-level summit.
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