Ankara (TDI): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with delegations from Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan to discuss strengthening regional trade and connectivity.
At the meeting, Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov delivered a letter from President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
“We conveyed the warmest greetings and a letter from the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The strong relations between our leaders form the foundation for close collaboration in all areas. Our peoples, connected by a common history, traditions, and customs, are working together for a better future,” Saidov wrote on Telegram.
Saidov was in Ankara for a trilateral forum with his Turkish and Azerbaijani counterparts.
Ahead of the event, he held a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.
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During the forum, the three sides discussed expanding trade routes between Asia and Europe.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that the Middle Corridor — which runs through Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus, and Turkiye — has proven to be the most reliable and cost-effective trade route between the two continents.
Fidan emphasized the importance of regional collaboration in the economic, transport, and energy sectors, especially in light of recent global disruptions caused by the pandemic and conflicts.
He also noted Turkiye’s growing role as an energy hub amid ongoing challenges in international energy supply.
Beyond trade, the ministers discussed regional security situation, including Syria.
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Fidan said that recent developments in Syria present “new window of opportunity” for reconstruction and stability.
He called for joint efforts to back Syria’s rebuilding process, stressing that stability in the region would enhance trade, transport, and energy cooperation.