On 4 October, Secretary General Amreyev had a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov.
Foreign Minister Mammadyarov welcomed the Secretary General and congratulated him for his appointment to the new post. He expressed his confidence that the Turkic Council will increase its role in boosting the cooperation among the member countries in the upcoming period. The minister reassured the Secretary General that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would continue to support the activities of the Turkic Council.
Secretary General expressed his appreciation to the Minister for the warm reception and strong support he provides to the Turkic Council. He also emphasized the important position and role of Azerbaijan in fostering political collaboration among the Turkic Councils member countries. Secretary General then ensured his adherence to the decisions of the Heads of State reflected in the Cholpon-Ata Declaration, which also includes the reform package that will affect the Turkic Council and other international organizations of Turkic cooperation.
The parties discussed the ongoing relations of the Turkic Council with the UN and other prominent international organizations and reviewed the activities of the organization, especially projects in the fields of economy, trade, and tourism. The prospective theme and date of the next Summit, which is going to be held in Azerbaijan, was also high on the agenda.
They also exchanged views on the latest regional developments and some international issues.
After the meeting, Foreign Minister Mammadyarov gave an official luncheon in honor of the Secretary General Amreyev.
Later in the day, Secretary General Baghdad Amreyev met with the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Novruz Mammadov. The parties discussed at length the agenda of the next meeting of Ministers of Economy, which is going to be held on 16 October 2018 in Bishkek and considered the establishment of the multilateral trade and financial institutions that would enhance the competence of the Turkic Council in the field of the economy. They also stressed the need to intensify partnership among the Member States in other areas of cooperation.
Secretary General also had a meeting with the Speaker of the Parliament (Milli Majlis) Oqtay Asadov. Parties reviewed the interparliamentary relations among the Member States of the Turkic Council. They highlighted the need to enhancing the cooperation in this field on the way of achieving more effective coordination among all the bodies of Turkic cooperation, as was underscored by the Council of Heads of State during the last summit.
At the meeting between the Secretary General and Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev, Parties addressed the aspects of the upcoming meeting of Ministers of Economy, the establishment of the joint investment fund, the preparation of the research paper on investment climate and international trade complementarities of the Member States and the prospective creation of a body that would be responsible for the cooperation among the chambers of trade and industry of the Member States. Moreover, they exchanged opinions on measures aimed at increasing the volume among the Member States believing that cooperation in the field of transport should contribute to the promotion of various modes of transport linkages, increase of the freight traffic volume and facilitation of the procedures on the way to reducing logistics costs along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor.
The topic of transport was also discussed during the meeting with Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies (ICT) Ramin Quluzade who expressed appreciation with the current activities of the Turkic Council in this field. The parties also exchanged views on the Turkic Council`s work in the field of ICT reaching а common position on the need to extend the organization`s activities in this sphere.
On the next day (5 October), Secretary General held a meeting with Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov. The sides elaborated on the upcoming initiatives in the field of youth and sports such as the First Turkic Council Young Leaders Forum, which will be hosted by Azerbaijan on 25-30 November 2018 in Nakhchivan. The parties noted that the stated event, aimed at promoting awareness of the cultural affinity among young people from the Member States, would be the first step in the implementation of the Cholpon-Ata Summit decisions. Parties also deliberated on the agenda items of the 3rd meeting of Ministers in charge of Youth and Sports planned to take place on 5 December 2018 in Astana.
Secretary General discussed the latest developments in the field of customs and transport with Chairman of Customs Committee Safar Mehdiyev. Mr. Amreyev underlined the initiatives of the Member States in this field noting major national projects such as the “Silk Wind” of Kazakhstan and “Caravanserai” of Turkey. Parties also took up the schedule of the next Meeting of the Heads of Customs Administrations planned to be held in December 2018 in Kazakhstan.
In a meeting with Chairman of State Tourism Agency Fuad Nagiyev, Secretary General informed his counterpart on progress in the realization of the Turkic Council Modern Silk Road Joint Tour Package stressing the need to get the support of the national airline companies to help reduce the operational costs of the tour operators involved in the project in order to decrease the ticket prices of the tours. The counterparts then discussed the prospective promotion of the tour package at national and international levels.
Discussions with Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov mostly focused on security issues. Deputy Foreign Minister Khalafov underlined the importance of developing common approaches among the Member States and proposed to include the topics related to environment and emergency situations in the agenda of the Turkic Council. Exchanging views on the regional and international politics, the parties also discussed the strategy to obtain observer status for Turkic Council in the UN and OIC.
Another meeting in the framework of the official visit to Azerbaijan was with President of the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation Gunay Afandiyeva. During the discussions, Parties discussed cooperative arrangements to avoid duplication and enhance the efficiency of the Turkic cooperation bodies. Ms. Afandiyeva informed the Secretary General about the activities of the Foundation and asked to support the finalization and signing of the corresponding documents of the Foundation.
On 5 October, Secretary General gave an interview to CBC channel on the outcomes of his visit to Azerbaijan.
Project Directors of the Turkic Council Jeyhun Shahverdiyev, Ali Çiviler, and Hatice Özge Pan accompanied Secretary General Amreyev during the visits.
