‘Turkey, Azerbaijan need to increase collaboration’

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA

Ankara and Baku need to increase solidarity and collaboration in the region, Turkish Parliament Speaker Binali Yildirim said on Wednesday during his official visit in Azerbaijan.

"Turkey and Azerbaijan share the same faith in the same region. There are some serious plans in our region nowadays," a statement from the parliament quoted Yildirim as saying at a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Oktay Asadov.

"We need to increase our solidarity and collaboration against these plans. We need to have a firm stance against those who want to destabilize our region."

For his part, Asadov said Azerbaijan wants to further increase the bilateral relations with Turkey.

"Last year, the bilateral trade volume was $2.6 billion and it was $1.9 billion in the first half of this year. Our presidents ordered the increase of these numbers. We will work more for this," Asadov added.

Yildirim said these numbers are low considering the potentials of the two countries. "We need to increase trade. For this, it is beneficial to have more mutual talks," he added.

During his visit to Baku, Yildirim was received by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

According to a statement from the Turkish parliament, Aliyev said "brotherly" relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey have advanced in every field.

He later visited a martyrs' cemetery in Baku.