After a face-to-face meeting, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks in an expanded format with the participation of delegations.

In opening remarks, President Ilham Aliyev said:

Dear Prime Minister, dear brother! Let me warmly welcome you to Azerbaijan. First of all, I would like to heartily congratulate you on the comprehensive victory of the party you are leading in the parliamentary election, and wish you good health and further successes.

In essence, the official visit to Azerbaijan you are paying a month after the election is a demonstration of the high level of our relations. Indeed, our relations are at a level of alliance, they have been shaped on the basis of the principles of friendship and brotherhood. At present, these relations cover all the spheres, Turkish-Azerbaijani friendship and unity have become a very important factor not only in a bilateral format, but also in regional issues.

We have had a very detailed discussion today, reviewed practically all the issues on the agenda and became further convinced that there are no differences between us on any issues. And that is the way it should be because the historical and cultural roots we are sharing are so strong that they are playing a very important part in the development of Turkish-Azerbaijani relations.

Let me welcome you and all our brothers accompanying you in Baku again. I am saying welcome to you again. I am sure that your visit will be successful and memorable even though it is short-term.

Х Х Х

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said:

On my own behalf and on behalf of the delegation, I would like to express gratitude to dear President Ilham Aliyev and esteemed members of the delegation.

As you may know, according to our tradition, we pay our first post-election visit either to Azerbaijan or to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. This time the 37th anniversary of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus fell on 20 July, so we paid our first visit there. And our second foreign visit has been to Azerbaijan. In a face-to-face meeting with my dear brother, we discussed relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan. We discussed all the issues in all the spheres – military, political, economic, trade, cultural – from earlier times to the present. We had the opportunity to examine regional issues. We also had the opportunity to discuss what steps we can and will take in the future. Of course, the Supreme Council on Strategic Partnership is highly important. We are attaching great importance to that and look very much forward to the time when we will have a first meeting.