President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan has begun his visit to Azerbaijan. During the visit, it is expected to held bilateral meetings in Shusha - the cultural capital of Azerbaijan. The meetings will focus on all aspects of relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan and discuss ways to increase the potential for cooperation. It is anticipated that as a result of the discussions, the parties will sign a comprehensive agreement to deepen the relationship between Azerbaijan and Turkey. The new cooperation measures will stimulate trade between the two countries, ensuring the comprehensive development of the relations. As an important trade partner of Azerbaijan, Turkey has been in second place in the country's foreign trade turnover and exports since 2015, and import operations since 2013. In 2019, the share of Turkey in Azerbaijan's total foreign trade turnover was 14% which made 4.5 billion US dollars. Tensions created by the pandemic did not have a significant impact on the volume of mutual import-export operations, which developed along the rising trajectory. Thus, in 2020, the trade volume between the two countries amounted to 4.16 billion US dollars. At the same time, comprehensive measures are being taken to fully assess the potential between the economies of Azerbaijan and Turkey and to achieve the target trade volume of 15 billion US dollars by 2023. One of these measures is the Preferential Trade Agreement that came into force on March 1, 2021. This agreement will accelerate the achievement of trade targets set by the two countries through reducing tariffs on 15 groups of goods, eliminating non-tariff barriers, and increasing import-export operations between the two countries. In addition, the expansion of economic ties will increase investment between the parties. At present, Turkey creates more capital flows to the non-oil sector in Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan – mainly to the energy and chemical sectors in Turkey.

Investments from Turkey to Azerbaijan are equal to 12 billion US dollars, and investments from Azerbaijan to Turkey are 19.5 billion US dollars. At present, about 2,000 Azerbaijani companies operate in Turkey, and more than 4,100 Turkish companies function in our country. In terms of the number of companies in Turkey and the volume of investment, Azerbaijan ranks first among the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus. The establishment of a joint investment fund between the two countries, the implementation of large enterprises, and projects involving the transfer of joint technology and localization of production, which can be implemented through a public-private partnership, will accelerate the achievement of investment goals and maximize opportunities. Along with all these spheres, the active participation of Turkish companies in the privatization of state property contributes to the strengthening of investment relations. Azerlottery OJSC can serve as an example. The new cooperation platform will create additional opportunities for the development of the gaming industry in Azerbaijan, attract new investment and increase budget revenues. The diversification of transport and logistics hubs as another important area of economic relations, along with the economic development of our country and the fraternal republic, ensures the establishment of peace and prosperity in the region. The doubling of the volume of cargo transported on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway in 2020 is an obvious example of the effectiveness of joint projects in the field of transport and communications. As a result of the opening of the Zangazur corridor and the construction of a railway to Nakhchivan, transport and transportation costs as well as time will be reduced during import-export and transit operations between Azerbaijan and Turkey. Also, the scale of economic trade relations will expand. Moreover, it will accelerate the achievement of the goal set for foreign trade turnover. Also, the new "3 + 3" cooperation platform format proposed by Azerbaijan in the region will facilitate the development of bilateral trade relations between the countries, as well as increase the strategic importance of Nakhchivan. The involvement of Turkish entrepreneurs in the process of reintegration and rehabilitation of our liberated lands forms a new sphere of our economic relations with Turkey. Thus, Turkish companies take active participation in the construction of infrastructure projects, roads, as well as Fizuli airport in the Upper Karabakh and Kalbajar-Lachin economic regions. At the same time, measures to be taken in the liberated territories to revitalize potential sectors such as tourism, agriculture, mining and extracting industries, production of construction materials, and alternative energy and integrate them into the country's economy, as well as the formation of new transport and logistics corridors in the region promises new prospects for expansion of our relations with Turkey. At the same time, for developing economic ties, in February 2021, Azerbaijan and Turkey signed a total of 11 protocols in the fields of mining, textiles, transport logistics, small and medium business, and investment promotion, architecture, and design. Against the background of all these opportunities, the expansion of cooperation between the two countries, the establishment of joint ventures, transport and logistics, as well as the use of favorable geographical location will increase mutual trade, investment, strengthen transport and communication ties in the region, and increase the efficiency in the restoration and development of our liberated lands.