On 13 December 2022, on the eve of the trilateral summit, meetings of the Ministers of Energy, Foreign Affairs and Transport of Turkmenistan, Türkiye and Azerbaijan were held in the Avaza national tourist zone.
Turkish Energy Minister speaks on likely outcomes of the trilateral summit with Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan
Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez said that energy cooperation between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan should be further developed.
Donmez spoke at the trilateral meeting of the energy ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on the eve of the Awaza summit on Tuesday, 13 December 2022.
Noting that a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of energy will be signed between the three countries during the summit, Donmez said: “I am confident that this agreement will constitute a very strong foundation for the work we will carry out together and the joint projects we will implement in strengthening the energy supply and demand security of both our regions and our countries. Now is the time to turn these strong intentions into concrete steps”, – Bloomberg HT quoted the Turkish minister as saying.
Highlighting Turkmenistan’s desire to diversify its gas sale markets, Donmez added: “Within the scope of the tripartite memorandum of understanding, we have also decided to work for the long-term supply of regional resources, including Turkmen natural gas.”
In this context, he stressed the interest of the parties in ensuring that cooperation in the trilateral format would bring interregional benefits in the near future.
“At this point, we are ready to do whatever we can. We want Dostluk (Friendship), which is an important hydrocarbon field, to turn into a concrete project with a beautiful partnership and cooperation that fits its name”, Donmez continued.
According to the Minister, the partnership in the field of energy cannot be limited only to hydrocarbons. Turkiye stands ready to share its experience in the fields of energy, gas, oil and electricity.
Earlier, the Turkmen state news agency TDH reported in a coverage on the meeting of energy ministers that following the summit of the heads of state of Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Turkiye, it is planned to sign a number of important agreements that will give new impetus to the development of relations in the strategic energy sector of the trilateral partnership. ///nCa, 14 December 2022 (photo source – screenshot from Turkmen TV)
Meeting of Foreign Ministers
The Foreign Ministers of Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Türkiye exchanged views on the current state and prospects of cooperation between the three states. The course of practical implementation of the agreements reached earlier, topical issues of the global and regional agenda were also discussed.
During the talks, it was noted that Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Türkiye approached the first Summit with solid experience of interaction. An important place in this is given to the involvement of political and diplomatic mechanisms, which, according to the participants of the meeting, should be triggered, giving the negotiations a systematic character.
In this context, a number of constructive proposals were voiced on the development of cooperation in strategic areas – trade and economic, energy, transport and communication.
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The same day Rashid Meredov held the separate bilateral meetings with his Turkish and Azerbaijani counterparts. ///nCa/TDH, 14 Dec (photo credit – Anadolu)
Anadolu: Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan to take concrete steps at trilateral summit
Hailing strong trilateral ties with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, Türkiye’s top diplomat said on Tuesday that a planned leaders’ summit would herald concrete action in various fields between the three nations.
“Our common cultural heritage, language, religion, and history bind us together. We strengthen our relations in the Turkic world not only via the Organization of Turkic States but also via the bilateral, triple, and quadruple mechanisms,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a preparatory meeting ahead of the Türkiye-Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan summit in the Turkmen city of Awaza on Wednesday.
Noting that the energy and transportation ministers of the three countries were also holding separate meetings, Cavusoglu said the ministerial contacts and leaders summit would yield “concrete steps in the fields of trade, energy, transportation, economy, customs, education, science and culture.”
He pledged on behalf of Türkiye to “continue our efforts to facilitate the circulation of goods, services and workforce” with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.
Thus, he added, they would make “significant contributions to regional prosperity and security.”
The leaders of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan are scheduled to meet on Wednesday in the western Turkmen city of Awaza to address steps on further deepening cooperation, particularly in trade, energy, and transportation, according to the office of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Cavusoglu also held a bilateral meeting with his Turkmen counterpart Rashid Meredov on the preparatory meeting’s sidelines, according to his Twitter post.
“We reviewed the steps to further our cooperation in the fields of transportation, energy and defense industry,” he said. ///Anadolu, 13 Dec
Meeting of Transport Ministers
As part of the exchange of views on the further development of productive cooperation on the formation of modern infrastructure for sea, road and rail transportation of passengers and cargo, the meeting participants noted that Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan countries have a huge potential in the transport field, which they strive to realize together, with maximum impact in order to maintain sustainable economic growth, improve the welfare of the three peoples and strengthening international trade relations.
The topics of discussion were the adoption of joint measures for the development of rail transport. In this context preparation of a draft agreement on the creation of a flexible system of competitive tariffs and conditions for rail transport was discussed.
The issues of harmonization and the formation of favorable opportunities for road carriers, including mechanisms for issuing visa, were also considered.
The engagement of the relevant authorities of the three nations on the formulation of common norms for the implementation of necessary procedures and the optimization of tariff rates was considered in order to develop container transportation by rail, road, and sea.
As it was emphasized, the multimodal logistics park can provide a range of services for the storage and combined processing of containerized cargo delivered by air, road and rail.
The meeting discussed the necessity for networking in the fields of cybersecurity and cutting-edge technologies. They said that forums should be held to facilitate the sharing of expertise as well as the creation of training programs in these fields. ///TDH, 14 December 2022 (photo credit – Trend)