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Category: Azerbaijan

Turkey and Azerbaijan agree on purchase and sale agreement on gas

Turkey and Azerbaijan agreed on purchase and sale part of the intergovernmental agreement, adding that, however, the parties needed time to work more on transit passages part of the agreement.

Turkish energy & natural resources minister said on Friday that Turkey and Azerbaijan agreed on purchase and sale part of the intergovernmental agreement, adding that, however, the parties needed time to work more on transit passages part of the agreement.

Speaking at a news conference regarding the Turkey-Azerbaijan Natural Gas Purchase, Sale and Transit Agreement, Energy& Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz said the parties carried out the negotiation process on five topics, underlining that they could not agree on every issue.

Yildiz said the teams would maintain talks and noted that a series of agreements would be signed.

He said there would be a transportation agreement regarding intergovernmental agreement, purchase and sale agreement and transit passage of gas, and noted that some agreements were initialed and some of them were about to be initialed.

“We have agreed on the intergovernmental agreement in principle and in detail. We agreed on issues regarding purchase and sale agreements. Transit passage is a 130 page text. We need time to work on it.”

Azerbaijani Energy Minister Natik Aliyev said there was no difference of opinion, noting that the parties would negotiate the matters and sign them.

AA

May 1, 2011
Turkey invests $6 billion in Azerbaijani economy

Azerbaijan, Baku, April 28 / Trend, A. Akhundov /

Turkey ranks first for investments in Azerbaijan’s non-oil sector, Azerbaijani Economic Development Ministry Administration Chief Samir Veliyev said in Baku today at a conference on the Azerbaijani-Turkish cooperation on the topic of ‘Socio-Economic Development in the Globalizing World”.

“Today, more than one thousand Turkish companies successfully operate in different sectors of the Azerbaijani economy,” Valiyev said. “The amount of Turkish investments in Azerbaijan has hit about $2 billion since 2002,” he added.

The potential of Turkish-Azerbaijani relations allows significant increase to the current volume of trade turnover, the head of the Main Department on Foreign Economic Relations of the Turkish State Planning Organization Metin Eker said.

“Trade turnover between the two countries in 2010 reached $2.5 billion, whereas in 2005 this figure hit $800 million,” Eker said.

He said that in general the Azerbaijani entrepreneurs’ investments in Turkey amounted to three billion dollars, and “the main spheres of the Azerbaijani businessmen in Turkey are the petrochemical complex and tourism”.

The total volume of Turkish investments in Azerbaijan’s economy hit $6 billion, Eker said.

So far, Turkish companies have signed contracts on 237 projects in Azerbaijan.

“We believe that these figures will increase. Turkey is pleased with Azerbaijan’s economic success,” Eker said.

Reports on economic models used by the Turkish State Planning Organization, on the role of the balance model in strengthening the scientific basis of socio-economic policy, management, monitoring of investment programs and the fight with poverty were presented at the conference.

via Turkey invests $6 billion in Azerbaijani economy | Economy & Business news | Trend.

April 30, 2011
Turkey, Azerbaijan have national morale problem

YEREVAN. – Turkey and Azerbaijan have real problems with national morale and political sufficiency, Armenian Deputy FM Shavarsh Kocharyan stated at the presentation of a book on Armenian-Turkish relations.

This is one more piece of evidence that Turkey is not yet ready to meet European standards in politics. Turkey is not taking any steps showing its willingness to establish relations with Armenia.

By failing the dialogue, Turkey missed a real chance to normalize relations with its neighbor and to participate in establishing a civilized dialogue in the region. “Moreover, Ankara prefers the role of regional separator stirring up hatred,” Kocharyan said. By rejecting reconciliation with Armenia, Turkey lost the way to as narrow path to Europe.

via Turkey, Azerbaijan have national morale problem | Armenia News – NEWS.am.

April 23, 2011
Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan strengthen ties

Tehran Times Political Desk

TEHRAN – The two-day Iran-Turkey-Azerbaijan trilateral forum, which was attended by the foreign ministers of the three countries, concluded in Urmia, West Azerbaijan Province on Sunday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi held separate talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov on the sidelines of the meeting on Sunday.

Salehi and Mammadyarov stated that providing customs facilities, increasing the volume of trade between Iran and Azerbaijan, and expanding cooperation in various areas must be put on the agenda.

They also emphasized the necessity of implementing the agreements signed by the two countries.

Mammadyarov also extended an invitation to Salehi to visit Azerbaijan.

In another meeting, Salehi and Davutoglu explored ways to increase the volume of trade between Tehran and Ankara.

Salehi stated that Iran and Turkey have good cooperation in the regional and international arenas and called for closer bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Davutoglu said that the trilateral meeting of Iranian, Turkish, and Azerbaijani foreign ministers paved the way for the expansion of regional cooperation.

And Turkey is keen to increase cooperation with Iran, particularly in economic interactions and the area of transportation, he added.

Iran, Turkey open new border crossing

Iran and Turkey opened a new border crossing during a ceremony held in Urmia on Saturday.

The Razi-Kapikoy border crossing is the third border crossing between Iran and Turkey, connecting Iran’s West Azerbaijan Province and Turkey’s Van Province.

Salehi, Davutoglu, and Mammadyarov attended the opening ceremony, which was held on the sidelines of their trilateral meeting.

The Turkish foreign minister delivered a speech during the ceremony, in which he said that the opening of the third border crossing between Iran and Turkey will mark a turning point in the relations between the two countries.

“Today (Saturday) the border crossing will be opened for the traffic of passengers and light vehicles, and will be ready for the passage of heavy vehicles on September 11,” Davutoglu stated.

Strengthening ties with neighboring states in all areas has been a foreign policy priority of Turkey over the past eight years, he added.

Davutoglu also stated that the volume of trade between Iran and Turkey is currently $10 billion and will reach $30 billion in the near future given the fact that a new border crossing has been opened between the two countries.

The Iranian foreign minister also delivered a speech at the ceremony, in which he said that the inauguration of the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing will help increase cooperation between Iran and Turkey.

Tehran and Ankara should make every effort to strengthen their relations, Salehi added.

April 18, 2011
Turkey expects Azerbaijan to lift visas for businesspeople

Turkish Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan has said his government expects Azerbaijan to remove visa requirements for Turkish businesspeople to further increase trade between the two brotherly nations.

Speaking at the Turkey-Azerbaijan Business Forum organized by the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) in Ankara on Friday, Çağlayan said Turkish businesspeople should be able to travel visa-free to Azerbaijan just as their Azerbaijani counterparts can to Turkey. “We are one nation in two states. Our history, culture, brotherhood, holy book and prophet are the same. Looking from that framework, there is nothing that separates us,” the minister said, adding that the trade volume between the two countries, however, is not reflective of those strong bonds. Last year, Turkish-Azerbaijani trade was recorded at $2.5 billion. Çağlayan said it should be easy to bring this number up to $10 billion. For him, a free-trade agreement between the two nations is a must to that end. In his speech, Çağlayan also gave political messages and underlined that Turkey will never approve any rapprochement with Armenia — which currently occupies 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territories, including Nagorno-Karabakh — before the ongoing issue between Azerbaijan and Armenia is resolved.

Also speaking at the same event, Azerbaijani Minister of Economic Development Shahin Mustafayev drew attention to opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in the field of energy. He also urged businesspeople from both countries to cooperate in third countries.

April 16, 2011
Azerbaijan has fewer problems with EU than Turkey

News.Az interviews Zeyno Baran, an American political scientist.

How do you evaluate Azerbaijan’s current place in our region?

Zeyno Baran

Azerbaijan has a strategically important location and is at the crossroads between north and south, east and west, as it was said at the Baku conference on dialogue between cultures. The country showed impressive development rates in the last 10 years. It suggests that the future of the country is very promising.

You have spoken about the international conference on intercultural dialogue, in which you have taken part. Are such events helpful in letting the world know more about Azerbaijan to draw the world’s attention to Karabakh conflict and other problems of the country?

Yes, certainly. Any of such conferences, especially when the matter is about dialogue between cultures, between religions. Such events are helpful to Azerbaijan in showing its multireligiousness and multiculturalism to the world community.

Do you see Azerbaijan integrated with the European community in the near future?

If we mean EU membership, I don’t think this is the event of the nearest future. All the same, dialogue with EU is developing. Everything depends on the level of improvement of social, economic and other spheres in Azerbaijan. Especially, if Azerbaijan wants to become part of Europe, it has to share common values.

I mean famous European Islamophobia when the point comes to Eurointegration of such Muslim countries, as Turkey and Azerbaijan. Is it true that in this sense Europe will always keep our countries aloof?

Azerbaijan is much smaller than Turkey which is why we have fewer problems. In addition, Azerbaijan is a country with secular traditions and I don’t think in this view Azerbaijan and Turkey are the same-category countries. In addition, the case with Turkey is related to EU accession, unlike Azerbaijan.

Leyla Tagiyeva

News.Az

April 10, 2011