Baku, Ankara, Ashgabat agree to uphold trilateral interests

DM Monitoring

ANKARA: The fifth trilateral meeting of foreign ministers was held in Turkey’s Ankara city with the participation of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov at the invitation of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told media on Wednesday.
The parties confirmed the commitment to the statements adopted following the results of trilateral meetings on May 26, 2014, in Baku, on January 29, 2015, in Ashgabat, on August 28, 2015, in Antalya, and on July 19, 2017, in Baku.
The foreign ministers reaffirmed mutual respect and unconditional support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the participating countries within their internationally recognized borders. The parties also emphasized the views on the creation of comprehensive peace, stability, and common prosperity and accepted the importance of using the tripartite mechanism of Turkmenistan-Turkey-Azerbaijan to expand the prospects for multilateral cooperation.
The foreign ministers stressed the importance of long-term cooperation among Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan within UN, OIC, OSCE, UNESCO, ECO, TURKSOY the Turkic Council, and other relevant regional and international organizations, as well as such forums as the “Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process”.
The parties emphasized the need to further strengthen cooperation in the fight against all forms of terrorism, separatism, extremism and discrimination, transnational organized crime, illicit trafficking in drugs and their precursors, arms and human trafficking, crimes against cultural and historical heritage, cybercrime, and illegal migration. In this context, the foreign ministers stressed the importance of the decision of the OIC to mark March 15 as the “International Day of Solidarity against Islamophobia” and agreed to support all international efforts in this sphere.
The parties emphasized the extreme importance of the trilateral summit of the presidents to be held in Turkmenistan. The foreign ministers noted the importance of strengthening trilateral economic cooperation, as well as the legal basis for economic cooperation among the participating countries.
The parties decided to support the further development of cooperation by strengthening trade and economic cooperation, using the existing potential to stimulate investments, as well as by implementing joint projects and programs in the field of customs, energy, transport, telecommunications, industry, agriculture, science, education, culture, tourism, and environmental protection.