Today.Az » World news » Erdogan's presidential reign starts in Turkey
29 August 2014 [10:10] - Today.Az


By AzerNews

The election of Recep Tayyip Erdogan as Turkey's 12th president will further enhance the strong relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Erdogan officially took the office after a swearing in ceremony held in Turkey's Grand National Assembly on August 28, The inauguration ceremony was attended by numerous heads of states and governments, as well as foreign ministers.

Prime Minister Artur Rasizade represented Azerbaijan at the event.

"The two countries have deep historical, cultural and economic relations and share common values," Erdogan believes. He is scheduled to pay his first official visit in this top position to Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is one of the most important countries for Turkey and the two countries have repeatedly stated their readiness to deepen friendly and fraternal ties. The forthcoming visit will reassert this aspiration.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was the first head of state to congratulate Erdogan on his victory in the presidential election,

Erdogan took a decisive victory at the recent Turkish presidential race on August 10 with 51.8 percent of the vote.

Turkey was the first country 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 its economic potential that arises from the rich natural resources of the Caspian Sea.

Turkey remains as one of the main supporters of Azerbaijan in the international arena and always gave its support in issues of great importance to Baku acting under the slogan "one nation two states"

Azerbaijani-Turkish relations are items of top importance on Erdogan's political agenda.

Turkey holds a decisive position in favor of Azerbaijan in the long-lasting Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which appeared as a result of Armenia's territorial claims towards its South Caucasus neighbor. Turkey severed diplomatic ties with Yerevan and closed its border with Armenia following Armenia's invasion of Azerbaijan's territory.

Turkey sets Armenia's withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan as a precondition for restoring diplomatic relations.

The two countries enjoy fruitful economic cooperation, which have dramatically boosted in the recent years with realization of major regional projects.

Economic projects, jointly implemented by Azerbaijan and Turkey, are bringing these countries together and strengthening their cooperation. These two countries are connected by several important regional projects, including the Baku-Supsa, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipelines, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas line, and TANAP.

Also, Azerbaijani companies have actively taken part in various projects in different parts of Turkey. SOCAR is one of the world's most well-established oil companies, active in Turkey since May 30, 2008. SOCAR is involved in a number of major investment projects in Turkey, including the construction of TANAP, Star refinery, and others.

The Azerbaijan-Turkey relations have always been strong due to a common culture and history and the mutual intelligibility of Turkish and Azerbaijani languages.

Azerbaijan and Turkey are the two countries that play a role of locomotive in the Turkish world and have its word in the international arena.

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