Turkey-Azerbaijan Trade Volume Target Set at $15 Billion

The Azerbaijan Meeting organized by the DEIK/World Turkish Business Council (DTIK) Eurasia Representatives Assembly took place on December 5, 2024, in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, with the participation of the Ambassador of Turkey to Baku, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cahit Bağcı, Turkish Parliament Member Cantürk Alagöz, DTIK Eurasia Representatives Assembly President Ayhan Akbaba, DEIK/Turkey-Azerbaijan Business Council President Selçuk Akat, DTIK Azerbaijan Representative Barış Altıparmak, and business people.

Ambassador Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cahit Bağcı stated, "On the 101st anniversary of our Republic, under the leadership of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, there are many steps we must take to enhance Turkey-Azerbaijan commercial and economic relations within the framework of Turkey's vision that we proudly carry." Bağcı mentioned that the activities of the World Turkish Business Council in the Eurasia region strengthen Turkey's foreign policy towards Eurasia, emphasizing, "Our goal to unite the Turkish world economically, politically, socially, and culturally contributes to strengthening solidarity and cooperation between our peoples and states in every field. Strengthening the capacity of Turkish entrepreneurs to act within a common strategy will bring about a greater impact. Our close political and cultural ties are further bolstered by economic links. Our common desire is to further develop our existing cooperation in every sector, primarily in energy, through mutual investments. As Azerbaijan's investments in our country increase, Turkish businesspeople are also taking the lead in the reconstruction of Karabakh. We will maintain our determination to raise our bilateral trade volume to 15 billion dollars within the framework of the mutual goals set by our Presidents, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Ilham Aliyev."

Ayhan Akbaba, the President of DTIK Eurasia Representatives Assembly, stated, "Today, we have gathered here as Turkish entrepreneurs and professionals living abroad to call for getting to know each other better, engage, and grow together. We are reinforcing the vision of the Turkic States Organization (TDT) put forth by our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in every city and country in our region. Under the auspices of our Embassy, we are together today with our DTIK Eurasia Representatives, DEIK/Turkey-Azerbaijan Business Council, Turkish business organizations in Azerbaijan, and respected representatives of the business world to develop our cultural, historical, economic, and social ties in the countries we are located in. As DTIK, we voluntarily strive to utilize our country’s soft power more effectively. As valuable businesspeople of the Turkish diaspora, we see that by establishing cultural ties and deepening commercial relations, you significantly contribute to the development of relations between our countries."

Selçuk Akat, President of the DEIK/Turkey-Azerbaijan Business Council, noted that Azerbaijan is entering new openings with Gulf countries and South Asia. "Central Asia, the Gulf, and South Asia form a strategic triangle. We should collectively think about how we can make the Middle Corridor with Azerbaijan more efficient. We need to find new projects that will strengthen our cooperation. We must enhance the connections and information exchange between our entrepreneurs based in Azerbaijan and our companies in Turkey. In this regard, DTIK gains importance as a platform for us. As the DEIK/Turkey-Azerbaijan Business Council, we carry out meetings, activities, and events to provide all kinds of information for interested businesspeople to further develop economic and commercial relations between the two countries. As a Business Council, we are closely collaborating with the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Agency (AZPROMO), the Trade Representation Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Turkey, and other institutions to ensure mutual development of investments," he added.

Barış Altıparmak, DTIK Azerbaijan Representative, commented, "We are also in contact with Turkish business associations in Azerbaijan. As our Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed in our Congress, we firmly believe that we will strengthen our activities in a unified, integrated, and efficient manner based on the 3E Principle. As the DTIK Azerbaijan Representatives Assembly, we continue our efforts as a platform aimed at bringing together Turkish businesspeople based in Azerbaijan under the motto of 'Diaspora Diplomacy.' We aim for the investments and commercial activities of our businesspeople here to become more visible, thus contributing to enhancing Turkey's competitiveness in the global market."

The sponsors of the meeting were Azersun, Borusan Holding, Demirören Holding, Kolin Holding, Sirab, and Ziraat Bank.