Baku: Trkiye and Azerbaijan have signed the 12th Joint Economic Commission (JEC) protocol, which includes a 110-point action plan spanning fields such as energy, trade, investments, and tourism. The agreement was formalized by Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov in Baku.
According to Anadolu Agency, Vice President Yilmaz highlighted that the Shusha Declaration, signed in June 2021 by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, elevated the bilateral relations to a strategic alliance. Yilmaz noted that the current cooperation aims to enhance prosperity across the Turkic world by bolstering activities under the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) on both regional and international levels.
Yilmaz emphasized that the JEC meetings offer a roadmap for realizing concrete projects and advancing towards shared economic objectives, ensuring that cooperation leads to tangible outcomes. He pointed out that 93 of the 120 items from the previous action plan have been completed, achieving a 78% success rate, which has paved the way for further success stories across various sectors.
The new action plan, comprising 110 items, includes measures such as exploring a Free Trade Agreement, expanding investment/service trade cooperation in third countries, and establishing a Joint Working Group for Azerbaijan's integration into the New Computerized Transit System. It also involves developing joint industrial training centers, forging a cooperation agreement in agriculture, enhancing collaboration in oil and natural gas projects, and organizing experience-sharing programs in diverse areas from health to tourism.
Yilmaz stressed the importance of institutional ownership in reaching the goals set until the next JEC meeting. He also revealed that Trkiye's trade volume with Azerbaijan reached its peak at $8 billion last year, with a medium-term target of $15 billion, focusing on joint production, investment, and project development in third countries.
Trkiye's investments in Azerbaijan have reached $18 billion, and Azerbaijan's investments in Trkiye have hit $21 billion. Yilmaz emphasized the strategic importance of managing energy resources and ensuring supply security, advocating for diversified energy cooperation that includes renewable sources and the prompt implementation of the planned energy corridor through Nakhchivan.
He also noted the strengthened cooperation between state-owned Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) and the Azerbaijan State Oil Company (SOCAR), the opening of the Igdir-Nakhchivan Natural Gas Pipeline, and agreements for joint activities in third countries. Projects like the Green Electricity Transmission and Trade Project and the Trkiye-Azerbaijan, Nakhchivan Interconnection Project further illustrate the visionary partnership.
Yilmaz highlighted the Middle Corridor, known as the Silk Road of the 21st century, as an important aspect of bilateral relations, gaining significant importance as a vital route between the East and West via the Caspian Sea. He emphasized that transforming potential into a sustainable logistics architecture will lay the foundation for the Modern Silk Road, shaping trade from China to Europe through the alliance between Trkiye and Azerbaijan.