MÜSİAD President Mahmut Asmalı, noting that alongside the diplomatic relations that have continued for more than 30 years between Türkiye and Azerbaijan, economic and commercial relations essentially also occupy a very important place, said, "Our trade volume, which increases with each passing day, will reach much better levels in the future."
The Türkiye-Azerbaijan Business World Summit of the Century, held at the MÜSİAD Head Office building, was attended by MÜSİAD President Mahmut Asmalı, Small and Medium Business Development Agency (KOBİA) Chairman Orhan Memmedov, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization (KOSGEB) President Hasan Basri Kurt, Azerbaijan Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Clubs Union Chairwoman Nigar Alasgarova, MÜSİAD Azerbaijan President Reşad Cabirli, Azerbaijan-Türkiye Businessmen Union (ATİB) Chairman Cemal Yangın, Türkiye and Azerbaijan Businessmen and Industrialists Social Union (TÜİB) Chairman Hüseyin Büyükfırat and Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Fund (AZPROMO) Chairman Yusif Abdullayev, together with Tamerlan Tağıyev, Trade Representative of the Consulate General of the Republic of Azerbaijan in İstanbul, and Turkish and Azerbaijani business people.
Speaking at the opening of the summit, MÜSİAD President Mahmut Asmalı said that for more than 30 years Türkiye and Azerbaijan have continued on their way under the motto "one nation, two states", strengthening their friendship and brotherhood with an ever closer bond each passing day.
Recalling that Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to rush to Türkiye's aid after the Kahramanmaraş-centred earthquakes of 6 February, Asmalı stated that thanks to the Brotherly Aid Platform they established together, relief supplies were delivered to the earthquake region.
In his speech at the panel titled "Türkiye-Azerbaijan Relations and Their Future Perspectives" held within the scope of the summit, MÜSİAD President Asmalı said that Türkiye's relations with Azerbaijan have always been multidimensional and at a strategic level, and that the most important element positively affecting the two countries' relations is the relationship between the leaders.
Drawing attention to the fact that the friendship established between the leaders of the two countries since the 1990s gained great momentum especially after 2010, Asmalı stated that thanks to the developing relations between the two countries, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum energy lines were brought into service.
Stating that, alongside military relations, joint foreign policy steps have also been taken between Azerbaijan and Türkiye thanks to the developing bilateral relations, Asmalı said, "In order to further strengthen bilateral relations, the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council (YDSK) mechanism was established at the level of the Presidents in 2010. The Shusha Declaration, signed on 15 June 2021 on the occasion of our esteemed President's visit to Azerbaijan, less than a year after the 33-year occupation of Karabakh came to an end with a historic and glorious victory, is an extremely important document in that it raised our bilateral relations to the level of alliance."
"Relations will advance in line with 'a common vision of the future'"
MÜSİAD President Asmalı said that the Shusha Declaration is a road map that sets out the main lines of the future of relations in the economic, energy and transport fields as much as in the field of security and the military.
Expressing that one of the most important reasons why the diplomatic relations between the two countries are this close is the existence of many common interests, Asmalı stated the following:
"For Azerbaijan, the safest route for delivering its energy resources to western markets has been Türkiye. Moreover, Türkiye's being an effective power in the South Caucasus is also extremely compatible with Azerbaijan's regional interests. Together with the independent foreign policy both countries have pursued in recent times, the development of energy and transport lines, the more active participation of the Organization of Turkic States in the process, the establishment of positive relations with the states of the region and the realization of regional projects are also among the results of the intense cooperation in the two countries' relations. As you know, the deep-rooted diplomatic relations of more than 30 years between Azerbaijan and Türkiye have many multifaceted and strategic stages"
Recalling that the country President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited first, immediately after the elections, was Azerbaijan following the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Asmalı expressed that with this important visit emphasizing the two countries' diplomatic and economic relations, the ties were strengthened much further with the understanding of "one nation, two states".
Asmalı used the following words: "In the end, this visit shows that in Türkiye's foreign policy, Azerbaijan will take first place in the coming period, just as it has before. It is possible to say that in the period ahead, relations between Türkiye and Azerbaijan will advance in line with 'a common vision of the future'."
"We still have a long way to go"
Mahmut Asmalı said that alongside the diplomatic relations that have continued for more than 30 years between Türkiye and Azerbaijan, economic and commercial relations essentially also occupy a very important place, and that the trade volume, which increases with each passing day, will reach much better levels in the future.
Noting that in 2022 exports to Azerbaijan rose by 6.9 percent compared with the previous year to USD 2.5 billion, Asmalı continued as follows:
"In the same period our imports from Azerbaijan recorded an annual increase of 20.7 percent, rising to a level of approximately USD 836.4 million. When we look at these figures, we see that the bilateral trade volume was realized at a level of USD 3.3 billion. In the January-May period of 2023, Türkiye's exports to Azerbaijan recorded an increase of 10.5 percent compared with the same period of the previous year, rising to approximately USD 1.1 billion. In this period Türkiye's imports from Azerbaijan rose to USD 535.5 million with an increase of 19.5. Is this enough? No. We have a target of USD 15 billion, and we have only reached a trade volume of USD 3.3 billion. We still have a long way to go; God willing, I believe that with such meetings, conferences, collaborations and visits this trade volume will reach far more advanced levels."
"We regard the summit as very important in terms of developing commercial relations"
KOBİA Chairman Orhan Memmedov, for his part, stated that the economic relations between Türkiye and Azerbaijan are broad and multifaceted, and said that the trade volume is also continuing with rising momentum.
Emphasizing that they regard the Türkiye-Azerbaijan Business World Summit of the Century as very important in terms of developing commercial relations, Memmedov said that they are carrying out work in particular to involve young people and women more in bilateral trade and to increase the trade volume.
Recalling that at a ceremony held recently in Baku they signed a cooperation protocol with Informatics Valley, Memmedov reported that as KOBİA they have cooperated with Informatics Valley in order to support both start-ups and young business people.
KOSGEB President Hasan Basri Kurt, meanwhile, stated that Türkiye has reached export figures exceeding USD 250 billion, and that approximately USD 100 billion of this is carried out by SMEs.
Conveying that more than 100,000 individual SMEs in Türkiye carry out exports, Kurt used the following words: "Of these, 40,000-45,000 are SMEs directly present in the manufacturing sector. We also want to transfer our experience in this field to Azerbaijan. Another dimension of the new period for relations between the two countries will be investment in technology entrepreneurship."
In addition, a panel titled "Commercial Cooperation and Investment Opportunities between Azerbaijan and Türkiye" was held within the scope of the summit. The summit continued with bilateral business meetings (B2B) between Turkish and Azerbaijani business people.
