Baku hosts event to mark 92nd anniversary of Turkish Republic

/By AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

The Turkish Republic's 92nd anniversary was marked with a solemn ceremony on October 29 in Baku.

The Republic Day marks the creation of the Turkish Republic in 1923. After Turkey’s victory in the War of Independence between 1919 and 1923, the Turkish Parliament proclaimed the new Turkish state as a Republic. A new constitution, which the parliament adopted on October 29, 1923, replaced the constitution of the Ottoman Empire. The leader in the Turkish War of Independence, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, became the country’s first president on the same day.

The Azerbaijani officials, ambassadors of foreign countries accredited in Baku, and other guests attended the solemn event.

Addressing the event, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ismail Alper Coskun welcomed the guests and expressed his gratitude for the participation in the ceremony.

Conveying the greetings of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the ambassador stressed that the celebration of the national holiday in brotherly Azerbaijan is a great honor.

Azerbaijan's Deputy Prime Minister Abid Sharifov, for his part, congratulated the Turkish people and the Turkish state on behalf of the Azerbaijani government, adding that the country went very long and glorious path, comprehensively developing.

Sharifov noted that throughout the history Turkey has always been next to Azerbaijan, and in the years of independence the fraternal country had provided huge support in state-building in Azerbaijan.

“Turkey has always been next to Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which is the most painful problem of our country and had great support in bringing of Azerbaijan to the international arena,” he said.

He added that the two countries successfully continue cooperation in all areas, which will also continue to develop in the future.

Sharifov also touched upon the economic relations between the two countries, informing the audience that more than 30 percent of the foreign companies operating in Azerbaijan accounted for Turkey.

Azerbaijan and Turkey implement major transport projects, and the largest of them is Baku-Tbilisi-Kars and commissioning of the railroad, according to the deputy prime minister, will closer the countries even more.

Azerbaijan and Turkey's relations have always been strong due to their common culture and history and the mutual intelligibility of Turkish and Azerbaijani languages.

Turkey was the first country in the world to recognize Azerbaijan's independence in 1991 and has been a staunch supporter of Azerbaijan in its efforts to consolidate its independence, preserve its territorial integrity, and realize the economic potential that arises from the rich natural resources of the Caspian Sea.

The economic projects jointly implemented by Azerbaijan and Turkey, particularly in the energy sector, have made a significant contribution to the development of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

One of the major joint energy projects is TANAP, which is developed by SOCAR in collaboration with Turkish Botas and the energy company TPAO, and will deliver gas from the Shah Deniz field to the Turkish-Greek border from eastern Turkey.