By Sara Israfilbayova

The member countries of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States (CCTS) invested over $12 billion in the economy of Azerbaijan.

The country’s Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev made the remarks at a meeting with CCTS Secretary General Bagdad Amreyev.

Mustafayev underlined that Azerbaijan invested over $14 billion in the CCTS member states.

During the meeting, Mustafayev congratulated Amreyev on his appointment to a new position and expressed confidence that his work would contribute to the further expansion of cooperation between the Turkic-speaking states.

It was stressed that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attaches great importance to the development of relations with the Turkic-speaking countries.

In 2017, the trade turnover of Azerbaijan with the CCTS member states increased by 11.4 percent, and for the eight months of 2018 it increased by 16 percent, Mustafayev said.

The minister stressed that Azerbaijan actively participates in the events of the Turkic-speaking states, adding that there are ample opportunities for expanding ties with the countries of the CCTS in the areas of trade, transit and transport, tourism, in the ICT sector and other spheres.

In turn, Amreyev stressed that the structure is interested in developing relations among the CCTS member countries in all directions, including in the economic sphere.

He reminded that the next meeting of economy ministers will be held in Kyrgyzstan, and stressed the importance of this event in the development of relations among the Turkic-speaking states, adding that issues of mutual interest for expanding cooperation among the Turkic-speaking countries will be discussed at the meeting.

The Turkic Council or Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States is an international organization comprising some of the Turkic countries. It was founded on October 3, 2009 in Nakhchivan.

The member countries are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey.

The main purposes and tasks of the Organization are: strengthening mutual confidence and friendship among the Parties, developing common positions on foreign policy issues; coordinating actions to combat international terrorism, separatism, extremism and cross-border crimes; promoting effective regional and bilateral cooperation in all areas of common interest; creating favorable conditions for trade and investment and others.

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Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is

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