16 March 2023 13:02

On 16 March 2023, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov participated in the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) held in Ankara, the capital of Türkiye.

Speaking at the meeting, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov stated that the Extraordinary Summit of the OTS to be held today upon the initiative of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev aims to demonstrate solidarity with brotherly Türkiye after the devastating earthquakes that occurred in Türkiye on 6 February 2023.

Confidence was expressed that despite the fact that these earthquakes, which were a great disaster and the tragedy of the century, caused tens of thousands of human losses, major destruction and humanitarian problems, the powerful Turkic nation and Türkiye will overcome the consequences of the earthquake with dignity as soon as possible. During the speech, it was emphasized that our peoples, who share their grief as they share their joy, demonstrated a rare example of solidarity also in these painful days.

It was noted that the dispatch of search and rescue teams, as well as humanitarian assistance, within a short period of time by the international community, including OTS Member and Observer States, towards eliminating the consequences of the earthquake, carries great moral significance. In this regard, it was reaffirmed that Azerbaijan, which has stood by brotherly Türkiye from the first moment of the disaster, will continue to support the Republic of Türkiye in the rereconstruction of the areas affected by destruction.

Information was provided that, upon the instruction of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, all relevant institutions of our country provided assistance to Türkiye in an operational manner, and within this framework, rescue and medical teams, field hospitals, and humanitarian assistance sent from our country by dozens of aircraft and hundreds of trucks were dispatched.

Minister Jeyhun Bayramov also spoke about the importance of strengthening cooperation, including joint activity, among Member States in the field of emergency preparedness and response against the background of the natural disaster that occurred, and noted the importance of the practical implementation of the roadmap on the establishment of the OTS Civil Protection Mechanism.

It was noted with satisfaction that over the years since the establishment of the OTS, cooperation among the Member States of the Organization has strengthened in various fields, including political, economic, trade, transport and communications fields, and that the international prestige of the institution has increased. In this regard, it was expressed that Uzbekistan’s Chairmanship of the OTS will serve to further strengthen the Organization.

Noting that developments taking place in the region and the world increase the importance of cooperation in the fields of transport and communications, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov provided detailed information on the work carried out by Azerbaijan in this direction to create new transport infrastructure in the liberated territories, including towards the launch of the Zangezur corridor. In this regard, confidence was expressed that these efforts of Azerbaijan, which will create conditions for using the transit potential of the Middle Corridor, will in turn make an important contribution to strengthening regional peace and security.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OTS Member States also delivered speeches at the Council of Foreign Ministers, and the draft documents and political declaration planned to be approved by the leaders of the countries at the Summit were reviewed.