Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 31
Trend:
Turkey and Azerbaijan will strengthen relations in all spheres, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a press conference held with participation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev following the sixth meeting of the Azerbaijan-Turkey High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council in Baku Oct. 31.
Erdogan noted that the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway strengthens the positions of Turkey and Azerbaijan in the issue of connecting Europe and Asia.
“Today, Turkey and Azerbaijan not only connect continents, but also carry out important energy projects, implementation of which successfully continues,” he said.
The Turkish president pointed out that some circles are concerned about Azerbaijan and Turkey’s significant energy projects.
“Even when the BTK railway’s construction started, there were those skeptical about the project’s implementation. But, as is known, the official opening ceremony of the BTK was held yesterday,” he said.
Erdogan noted that Turkey and Azerbaijan also strengthen their economic ties.
“I hope that Turkey and Azerbaijan will be able to achieve a trade turnover of $5 billion in the near future,” he said.
He added that Turkey and Azerbaijan strengthen relations in the defense sphere as well.
“We also intend to develop ties with Azerbaijan in tourism.”
Erdogan noted that Turkey will further support Azerbaijan and continue to share its experience.
The official opening ceremony of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was held in Baku Oct. 30. The BTK railway was constructed on the basis a Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement. The railway’s peak capacity will be 17 million tons of cargo per year. At an initial stage, this figure will be one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo.