On June 13, an official welcome ceremony was held for Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, who is on a state visit to Azerbaijan at the invitation of President Ilham Aliyev, the Press Office of the Azerbaijani President reported. On the same day, Aliyev held one-on-one and expanded meetings with Erdogan.

At a joint press conference, Erdoğan stated that Turkey and Azerbaijan will continue cooperating closely based on the principle of "One nation - two states." According to him, one of the important areas of interaction between Ankara and Baku is the educational sphere. In this regard, President Erdogan announced the imminent opening of the Turkish-Azerbaijani University. "It is necessary to resolve all issues as soon as possible. I am sure that we will achieve this. Thus, not only Azerbaijani youth will be able to study in Turkey, but Turkish youth will also get more opportunities to study in Azerbaijan," Erdogan said.

The President of Turkey noted that energy is another important issue on the dialogue agenda between the two countries. "Today, Europe, in particular, is very interested in gas supplies via Turkey. They constantly turn to us with requests. We, in turn, are doing everything necessary and will continue our efforts in this direction," the head of state assured.

Erdogan also drew attention to the situation in the South Caucasus, pointing out the importance of resolving the "Zangezur corridor" issue as soon as possible, which will contribute to strengthening Turkish-Azerbaijani relations.

Ilham Aliyev, in turn, noted that the unity of Azerbaijan and Turkey is important for the South Caucasus and the entire Turkic world. Azerbaijan and Turkey will continue to be based on a common position in foreign policy, he stressed.

The Azerbaijani leader called the opening of the Zangezur corridor inevitable. "The sooner the corridor opens, the better. We will intensify work in this direction," Aliyev said. 

He pointed to the importance of cooperation with Turkey in the defense sphere, confirming that the Azerbaijani army will continue to develop its power based on the Turkish model.

Turkish Company Akıncılar Partners with Azerbaijan for Joint Military Production

It is noteworthy that that the day before the Turkish company Akıncılar signed a cooperation agreement with the Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense Industry of Azerbaijan. According to the protocol signed by the parties, a joint production enterprise and a laboratory will be created in Azerbaijan.

Akıncılar currently manufactures body armor, ballistic helmets, uniforms, and other military products in Izmir. The products to be produced at the joint venture in Azerbaijan are planned to be delivered to third countries.

"Within three years, production in the fraternal republic will switch to completely domestic materials. For the first time, bulletproof defense products will be produced in Azerbaijan. At the innovation center, engineers from Akıncılar and the Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense Industry of Azerbaijan will jointly develop production," Ahmet Can Uzuntepe, the head of Akıncılar, said.