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Baku and Ankara: together for the good of region

Politics Materials 15 January 2015 22:00 (UTC +04:00)
The regular meetings of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey give reason to say that the relations between the two countries stand at the highest level.
Baku and Ankara: together for the good of region

Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

The regular meetings of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey give reason to say that the relations between the two countries stand at the highest level.

Azerbaijan and Turkey are bound by relations in the political and economic spheres, which are of particular importance not only for the region, but also for the entire world.

These two countries have been able to provide not only their own energy security, but also the energy security of Europe. Despite the fact that exactly the energy issues have become a stumbling block in many regions, Baku and Ankara were able to direct their energy potential towards the region's development.

Ankara hosted on Jan. 15 the fourth meeting of Azerbaijan-Turkey High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council with the participation of Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The council's meeting discussed political issues, in particular, such as the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, with regard to which Ankara's stance remains unchanged.

The meeting also focused on a number of energy issues.

It should be noted that the third meeting of this cooperation council was held on Nov. 13, 2014.

During the council's fourth meeting in Ankara, the sides also signed a number of agreements.

The parties also discussed the possibility of increasing the volume of trade turnover to $20 billion till 2023.

The Trans Anatolian gas pipeline project (TANAP) and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway project were among the issues discussed between the sides.

Turkey's policy is aimed at becoming an energy hub in the region, however, namely the TANAP project initiated by Azerbaijan has become priority for Ankara for the present.

With the implementation of the project for construction of Trans Anatolian pipeline, Azerbaijan's and Turkey's strategic importance will even more increase in the world and Ankara understands that.

Turkish officials have repeatedly said that TANAP, but not other projects the implementation of which is still under a big question, is priority for Ankara.

Azerbaijani-Turkish relations have always been developing progressively and there are no political barriers for their further development.

The economic relations and the implementation of joint projects, aimed at ensuring energy and transport security are today the priorities of cooperation for Azerbaijan and Turkey.

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Rufiz Hafizoglu is the head of Trend Agency's Arabic news service, follow him on Twitter: @rhafizoglu

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