The first tripartite summit of the presidents of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan was held in the Urkmen city of Avaz, according to the Hronikatm.com portal.
The President of Turkey in his speech touched upon the topic of gas transportation security, which has become relevant due to the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine. “The importance of energy security and diversification of sources for the whole world, especially for Europe, has again become clear,” Erdogan was quoted as saying at the meeting.
“In this regard, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Southern Gas Corridor stand out. We transport Caspian gas to Europe along this corridor, which is based on the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline. Now we must start working on transporting Turkmen natural gas to Western markets in a similar way. We are ready to cooperate with our Turkmen and Azerbaijani brothers in the field of friendship in the Caspian. We also attach great importance to the development of mutual trade in electricity between our countries in our region. Within this framework, we are ready to work on the transmission of electricity from Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan to our country,” Erdogan said.
Also, the head of Turkey expressed his desire for Turkmenistan to join the Organization of Turkic States (OTG) as a full member. “Completing the full membership process of Turkmenistan, which joined our organization as an observer member last year, will strengthen our strength,” Erdogan stressed.
Turning to the topic of trilateral cooperation, the President noted that the countries have improved their transport capabilities, but efforts must be stepped up to increase trade.
“The transit transport corridor Lapis Lazuli will help increase our trade volume as well as regional stability,” President Erdogan said.
Ilham Aliyev said that in January-October this year, Azerbaijan's trade with Turkey increased by 45% and reached $5 billion, while trade with Turkmenistan increased 5 times, which is a record, the press service of the President of Azerbaijan reports.
This became possible due to the start of deliveries of Turkmen gas to Azerbaijan under a swap scheme through Iran since January this year.
“Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan have made great progress in the field of transport and logistics. Our countries have implemented many projects, which, in turn, open up new opportunities for cooperation in the field of transport communication,” the head of Azerbaijan said.
Aliyev also spoke about the work of the Zangezur corridor, the laying of the foundation of the Alat free economic zone, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and the largest fleet in the region.
The parties discussed partnership in the economic sphere. They also talked about expanding cooperation in the areas of trade, energy and transport, the TDH agency briefly reported on the negotiations.
As a result of the event, a Joint Statement of the First Summit of the Heads of State of Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Turkey was adopted, and trilateral documents were signed:
• Intergovernmental agreement on trade and economic cooperation;
• Intergovernmental Framework Program for Cooperation in Science, Education and Culture for 2023-2025;
• Intergovernmental memorandum of understanding on the establishment of a Joint Consultative Commission on Customs Cooperation;
• Interdepartmental Memorandum of Understanding on the development of cooperation in the field of energy;
• Interdepartmental Memorandum of Understanding on the development of cooperation in the field of transport.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
December 15, 2022