Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 10
Trend:
The world community is firmly fighting against an invisible enemy - the COVID-19 pandemic, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Erdogan made the remark at the Extraordinary Summit of the Turkic Council through video conferencing, Trend reports.
"I am sure that the Turkic Council summit will strengthen our solidarity in the fight against the pandemic," the Turkish president said, adding that the coronavirus pandemic has led to the global socio-economic crisis.
Erdogan expressed hope that a difficult period for the world community will soon transform into stability.
“Of course, we will overcome the crisis of the coronavirus, after which the world community will face completely different realities,” the president said.
“Quarantine measures may have a negative impact on trade among member-states of the Turkic Council,” the president said. “Therefore, it is very important to take practical steps as soon as possible to eliminate emerging problems, especially in the transport and customs sectors. Of course, all these steps must be taken given the public health factor.”
“Turkey expects the steps from the member-states of the Turkic Council to promote the economic cooperation, including the issue of transit quotas, freight charges and visas for truck drivers,” Erdogan added.
The president also stressed the importance of increasing cargo transportation via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway.
“We are working to increase the cargo flow through the BTK by 3,500 tons of cargo per day,” the president said.
“The recent processes have demonstrated the importance of developing the Middle Corridor through the Caspian Sea,” the Turkish president said. “The countries must concentrate on the development of this transport corridor, focus on concrete steps to develop “non-contact” foreign trade and increase the transport modality.”
The Extraordinary Summit of the Turkic Council was convened at the initiative of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, who chairs the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking countries to discuss the steps to combat coronavirus.