Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan delivered the opening speech of the Turkey-Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Trilateral Meeting. Minister Fidan said, “It has been demonstrated that Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus and Turkey offer the most reliable and economical routes in trade between Asia and Europe.” Minister Fidan stated, “We must support the reconstruction and development of Syria hand in hand. Because regional stability and security will be ensured with the stability and development of Syria, and new opportunities will also come in the fields of logistics, transportation, trade and energy.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan spoke at the opening of the Tripartite Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Economy and Transport of Turkey-Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan held at the JW Marriott Ankara Hotel with the participation of Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat and Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu. Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan stated that meetings in this format are a convenient platform for addressing projects that will develop the economic, transportation and energy connectivity of ancient Turkestan, the Caucasus and Anatolia, which are regions sincerely connected to each other by brotherhood law, and emphasized that strategic cooperation mechanisms that support development and prosperity in the common geography are needed more than ever. Fidan pointed out that the international system was unable to produce peace, stability and justice for most of the world, and said that global tensions were increasing, and multilateralism and universal values were eroding. Fidan, who touched on the fact that the Turkic world, on the one hand, continued to act in solidarity and integration based on historical ties, and on the other hand, acted with the will to be part of the solution, said, “We are producing peace, prosperity and stability for our region and beyond.” Fidan recalled that important documents regarding the new TDT flag, the Turkish World Charter, the Turkish Green Finance Council, the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement and the TDT Civilian Protection Mechanism were accepted at the 11th Organization of Turkic States (TDT) Summit held in Bishkek, and expressed that they will continue to act jointly. Assessing that the breaks in supply chains and the conflicts that broke out in the region after the global pandemic have shaken the fundamental pillars of the global system, Fidan said, “All these tests have revealed that Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus and Turkey, in other words, the Middle Corridor, offer the most reliable and most economical route in trade between Asia and Europe.” Fidan drew attention to the fact that the energy crisis experienced with sanctions and counter-sanctions has increased the geostrategic importance of Central Asia and the Caucasus and further highlighted Turkey as an energy center. CALL FOR SUPPORT FOR SYRIA Stating that the “pleasing and promising” developments in Syria have opened a new window of opportunity for the region, Fidan said, “We must support the reconstruction and development of Syria hand in hand. Because regional stability and security will be ensured with the stability and development of Syria, and new opportunities will also come in the fields of logistics, transportation, trade and energy.” Fidan stated that Turkey, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan will discuss connectivity projects and cooperation opportunities regarding political and economic partnerships during the meeting, and that they will record the agreed issues in a joint declaration to be signed. Stating that a roadmap will be determined for the concrete steps to be taken in the upcoming period, Fidan said, “As the first agenda item, we will evaluate developments that closely concern our countries and the region with my Azerbaijani and Uzbek counterparts regarding foreign policy issues and regional cooperation.” Noting that the second agenda item is increasing cooperation in the fields of trade, economy and investment, Fidan pointed to Turkey’s increasing trade volume and developing trade with the Turkic world. Emphasizing that they attach special importance to diversifying commercial partnerships with Turkic states and encouraging mutual investments, Fidan stated that the Trade Ministers attending the meeting will evaluate the issue of increasing economic and commercial cooperation. Fidan, who reported that the transport ministers of the three “brother” countries will discuss the development of regional transport networks and the strengthening of cooperation in the transport and communication sectors, noted that Turkey has implemented many large-scale projects on the East-West-Middle Corridor route in the last 20 years.
