Baku, Ankara and Ashgabat accelerate regional cooperation Stake on energy transit

Amid the fuel and energy crisis in Europe unprecedented in its scale, intensified due to the war in Ukraine and the sanctions, Azerbaijan galvanized its status as a reliable link that provides energy security for the Old World. By increasing gas supplies through the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), our country, together with Türkiye, has intensified efforts to build a transport bridge with the Turkic states of Central Asia, increasing the transit potential for the export of raw materials and other goods from the Caspian region. Development of the above-mentioned trends became the key topic of the talks during the trilateral summit of the heads of the states of Azerbaijan, Türkiye, and Turkmenistan that was launched on December 14 in the Turkmen tourist zone "Avaza".

In recent years, the member states of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) have been striving to form a strategic alliance based on a solid economic foundation - participation in joint energy and transport projects and multi-billion mutual investments. A tangible impetus to this process was given in November last year during the Istanbul summit of the OTS when the priorities of the long-term concept of development of the Turkic countries were outlined and the basic document - "The Turkic world-2040", which identified the main directions of the economy, the most optimal for expansion of business cooperation, was adopted. These efforts have been continued at various meetings of the heads of state and governments of Turkic countries in Türkiye and Azerbaijan this year, as well as at the IX Summit of the Turkic countries held in Samarkand in November.

The talks in Turkmenistan followed this work. On the eve of the summit, the energy and transportation ministers and foreign ministers of the three countries met in the National tourist zone "Avaza" on the Caspian coast. According to the State News Agency of Turkmenistan (TDH), the heads of economic and diplomatic departments of the three countries focused on preparations for signing important agreements that would strengthen the legal framework of cooperation, as well as give an impetus to energy relations and diversify the supplies of Turkmen gas and electricity to the global market, including the European market, via Azerbaijan and Türkiye. The sides discussed further steps to deepen the cooperation of the three brotherly countries in trade and transport, including joint efforts to expand the transit potential of the Middle Corridor, a basic element of the transport and communication system of the Caspian region. In particular, they talked about expanding maritime, road and rail transport infrastructure, taking joint measures to implement the Agreement on competitive tariffs for rail freight carriers, harmonizing and simplifying cross-border and visa regulations for road transport, as well as developing unified transit and tariffing mechanisms for combined rail and sea container transportation.

Most of the above topics were on the agenda of the trilateral meeting of the presidents of Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan during the summit. Economic issues were also discussed during bilateral meetings with Turkmen President Serdar Berdymukhamedov and Chairman of the Khalk Maslakhaty (Parliament) Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov on December 14 as part of a working visit by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Turkmenistan.

"Azerbaijan, Türkiye and Turkmenistan are closely linked to each other by ethnic, religious and cultural roots and common spiritual values. Azerbaijan's political ties with Türkiye and Turkmenistan are also at a high level", President Ilham Aliyev said speaking at the summit. The head of state underlined the high level of economic relations between Baku and Ankara, stressing that in January-October 2022 Azerbaijani-Turkish trade turnover increased by 45 per cent up to $5 billion. Trade relations between Baku and Ashgabat are developing rapidly - this year mutual trade turnover has increased five times.

According to TDH, at the meeting the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan discussed the prospects for further development of mutually beneficial Turkmen-Azerbaijani business cooperation in energy security, as well as the creation of modern transit and transport infrastructure, taking into account the favorable geographical location of neighboring countries with vast hydrocarbon resources. In this regard, the sides noted the relevance of the intergovernmental memorandum on joint exploration, development, and exploitation of hydrocarbon resources of the Dostluq field in the Caspian Sea, signed in Ashgabat in January 2021. The sides also stressed the importance of further expansion and strengthening of ties in education, science, culture, health and other important areas.

During the bilateral meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, it was also noted that the two Caspian neighbors are actively developing bilateral relations and effectively interacting in the international arena, on the platform of major international organizations and regional bodies. The mutual understanding of the two friendly states is based on the proximity of views and positions of Baku and Ashgabat on current aspects of international life, and the active position of leaders in search of optimal solutions to global problems.

This solid foundation, based on mutual trust and common interests in regional politics, contributes to the further expansion of economic ties between Baku, Ankara and Ashgabat and the implementation of qualitatively new joint projects. "Today Caspian gas from Azerbaijan goes through Türkiye to Europe. It is time to start work on delivering Turkmen gas to Western markets," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the forum, stressing that Ankara is ready to cooperate with Baku and Ashgabat in this direction, as well as in the supply of Turkmen electricity to Türkiye.

In this regard, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu noted that various agreements will be signed at the summit to expand business and humanitarian cooperation, and all this will contribute to a more prosperous and secure future for the brotherly Turkic peoples and the entire region. The Turkish foreign minister also emphasized that a working group on the transportation of Turkmen gas to Europe will be established soon.

Here it is appropriate to recall that Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have a successful experience of cooperation on gas supplies, as well as the transit of oil and fuel. Thus, since January 2022, Baku and Ashgabat have established a successful swap operation. On average, 5-6 million cubic meters of Turkmen gas daily are delivered to northeastern Iran, and the Islamic Republic, in turn, ships the appropriate volume of gas to Azerbaijan via a cross-border pipeline. In the first half of the year our republic received about 1.5 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas, and today the technical possibilities for a doubling of supplies are being agreed upon.

The joint projects on transshipment of Turkmen oil and petroleum products by tankers to Azerbaijan's port terminals have a long history: for instance, over the last years, a total of 32 million tons of oil has been exported to the world markets through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Cisterns with Turkmen fuel and oil products go to the Black Sea oil terminal in the Georgian port of Kulevi by railway-ferry transit and are exported to Europe. The transit of minerals, fertilizers, textiles, and other containerized cargoes has also increased many times through another segment of the Middle Corridor - the LapisLazuli route between the ports of Turkmenbashi and Alat. Today LapisLazuli reliably links transport lines of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye into a single highway.

In the near future, these business projects will be expanded and supplemented with various options, as evidenced by the results of the trilateral summit of heads of state that ended in Turkmenistan and the documents signed within its framework. Among them is the joint statement of the presidents of Azerbaijan, Türkiye, and Turkmenistan on the results of the first summit. The sides also signed a trilateral intergovernmental agreement on trade and economic cooperation, an intergovernmental framework program of cooperation in science, education, and culture for 2023-2025, an intergovernmental memorandum of understanding on the establishment of the Joint Consultative Commission on Customs Cooperation, and two interagency memorandums of understanding on cooperation in energy and transport spheres.