Azerbaijan, Turkey ink environmental protection co-op accord

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan and Turkey signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of environmental protection on October 12.

The agreement was signed at the meeting of officials from the Azerbaijani Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry with the delegation led by Turkish Environment and Urban Planning Minister Murat Kurum, who is on a working visit to Azerbaijan.

The sides signed a two-year (2022-2023) working program for the implementation of the “agreement on cooperation in the field of environmental protection between Azerbaijan and Turkey".

They focused on environmental protection, climate change mitigation, proper management of waste, including plastic waste, and other issues of mutual interest. In addition, the sides exchanged views on prospects for further cooperation.

Azerbaijan and Turkey cooperate in various fields of economy and have jointly completed giant energy and infrastructure projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, and TANAP.

Eleven agreements were signed between the two countries within the Azerbaijani-Turkish business forum held in Ankara on February 18. The agreements envisage the development of the Azerbaijani-Turkish cooperation in the economic, trade, and other spheres.

Moreover, on June 15, Azerbaijani and Turkish presidents signed a Shusha Declaration on allied relations between the two countries.

In the first eight months of 2021, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey amounted to $2.8 billion. The trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $4.1 billion in 2020.

The two countries set up a goal to bring the mutual trade turnover to $15 billion in 2023. It should be noted that so far, Turkey is Azerbaijan’s second-largest investor followed by the UK.

Additionally, Turkey was one of the first countries that expressed its interest and readiness to participate in the restoration of Azerbaijan’s liberated territories.