On November 2, Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, arrived in the Republic of Kazakhstan to participate in the 10th summit of the Organization of Turkic States to be held under the motto "Turk Time", the Press Office of the Azerbaijani President reported.

Meeting with President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan

On November 3, Ilham Aliyev held a meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of the Republic of Türkiye, in Astana.

They hailed the successful development of friendly, brotherly, and allied relations between Azerbaijan and Türkiye in various areas. The presidents applauded the successful completion of the anti-terror measures carried out this September. During the conversation, they noted that the 10th summit of the Organization of Turkic States under the motto "Turk Time" contributes to further strengthening cooperation between the countries and peoples. The sides expressed confidence that the bilateral ties would continue to develop successfully and exchanged views on the prospects for cooperation and issues of mutual concern.

Erdoğan congratulated the head of state on the occasion of raising the flag of Azerbaijan in the cities of Khankendi/Stepanakert and Khojaly.

Summit

On the same day, the 10th summit of the Organization of Turkic States was held under the motto "Turk Time" in Astana. 

Speaking of the economic cooperation among member states, Ilham Aliyev emphasized, "Azerbaijan has invested more than 20 billion US dollars in the economy of Turkic states. The main part of the investments is being made in Türkiye. The process of establishing the joint investment funds is underway The Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Investment Fund and Azerbaijan-Kyrgyzstan Development Fund have been established. From January to September of 2023, Azerbaijan’s trade turnover with the Turkic states increased by 40 percent compared to the same period of 2022. Transportation and logistics occupy an important place in the development of our relations. Azerbaijan has proved to be a reliable transit country between the markets of the Central Asian countries, Türkiye, and Europe. Azerbaijan is making its valuable contribution to the sustainable operation of the East-West transportation corridor."

Regarding the relations with Armenia, the Azerbaijani leader noted: "Although in 2022 Armenia declared that it recognized Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, its real actions were totally illogical and controversial. The remnants of Armenia’s armed forces were left stationed on Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory. Armenian Prime Minister’s congratulatory message on the so-called 'independence' of the puppet regime on 2 September this year and the so-called 'presidential elections' held on 9 September in Karabakh were a disrespect for and a direct threat to our country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty."

"An explosion of landmines deliberately planted by the Armenian illegal armed formations in the liberated territories on 19 September 2023 claimed the lives of six civilians and police personnel. In its aftermath, Azerbaijan launched local anti-terror measures to restore its constitutional order and neutralize illegal armed formations. As a result of the operation that ended in 23 hours, Azerbaijan fully restored its sovereignty and constitutional order. No damage was inflicted upon civilians and civilian infrastructure during the anti-terror measures. Azerbaijan fully complied with the international humanitarian law. These facts were corroborated by the UN team that visited the region twice," he added.

Speaking at the summit, Sadyr Zhaparov, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, noted that Azerbaijan had always taken important steps towards restoration of its sovereignty. 

In his remarks at the summit, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan emphasized that Azerbaijan's restoration of territorial integrity was a source of pride for all Turkic states and ushered ample opportunities for peace. "The implementation of the communication line project [Zangezur] that will connect the western region of Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan is also of tremendous importance. The opening of this line will make a significant contribution to the prosperity of all countries of the region, and also connect Türkiye with the land of our ancestors, Central Asia. For the successful completion of this process, we as the Turkic world must continue our support for Azerbaijan."

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the Chairman of the People's Council of the National Assembly of Turkmenistan, while speaking about the projects being implemented by Turkic states, said: "Work is underway to create a transport corridor that will extend to the Caspian Sea along and cover Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and then expand to Azerbaijan and Türkiye. Currently, Turkmenistan exports natural gas to neighboring and fraternal countries of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. At the same time, we have the opportunity to export Turkmenistan's gas through the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, Türkiye, and world markets in the future. Soon, we will have the opportunity to transport electricity to Azerbaijan and Türkiye, which are fraternal countries."