Türkiye, Azerbaijan buttress economic ties with 4 key agreements

Members of the Joint Economic Commission between Türkiye and Azerbaijan convened on Wednesday, with top officials from the two sides signing four new agreements.

Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov met one-on-one and led inter-delegation talks during the 11th-term meeting of the commission held at the Presidential Complex in the Turkish capital Ankara, followed by the signing ceremony for the deals.

The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding between the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) and the Small and Medium Business Development Agency (KOBIA) of Azerbaijan, an agreement establishing a joint working group to facilitate commerce between the Türkiye's Trade Ministry and Azerbaijan's Economy Ministry, a cooperation agreement in the field of water, and a declaration of intent for cooperation in combating animal diseases.

After the signing ceremony, Yılmaz, accompanied by Asadov, delivered a press statement, stating that the steadfast leadership, friendship, and determination of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan played a significant role in bilateral cooperation advancing to its current levels.

Yılmaz highlighted the commission's importance in strengthening economic ties and said that 74% of the actions listed in the 86-point action plan signed in the 10th term had been implemented, totaling 64.

During the meeting, Yılmaz said the two sides had exchanged views on strengthening the commercial and economic relations, deepening existing collaboration, identifying new areas of cooperation, and developing joint projects.

He noted that in 2023, the volume of Türkiye-Azerbaijan bilateral trade had reached $7.5 billion, with Türkiye ranking second in Azerbaijan's exports and third in its imports.

For his part, Azerbaijan's Prime Minister Ali Asadov, touched on cooperation between energy and transportation.

"The mega projects we have implemented together have changed the world's energy and transportation maps. Our countries play an important role in the development of the region and in ensuring Europe's energy security," he said.

Asadov also mentioned that their visit to Türkiye had been productive, with the signature of several important documents.

He also said he would be received by President Erdoğan to convey an official letter of invitation to the COP29 UN climate conference from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The conference is scheduled to be held in November.

Asadov underlined that Türkiye and Azerbaijan had reached the halfway point in achieving their bilateral trade goal of $15 billion, reaching a trade volume of $7.65 billion, pointing out the potential contributions of economic cooperation to the prosperity of both countries.

Expanding the scope of their preferential trade agreement would help diversify bilateral economic relations, he said, taking note of their agreement to boost mutual investments.

"Our countries play an important role in the development of the region and in ensuring Europe's energy security," said Asadov, referring to their cooperation in energy and transportation.

He noted that cooperation between Ankara and Baku is "developing successfully in both directions," which are important factors in Azerbaijan-Türkiye relations.

"Our countries play an important role in the development of the region and in ensuring Europe's energy security," he added.