On February 27, the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, met with a delegation led by the Deputy Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Türkiye, Mr. Suay Alpay, Report informs, citing the MoD.
The Turkish delegation is on a working visit to Azerbaijan.
Before the meeting, the Turkish delegation visited the graves of the National Leader of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev, and prominent ophthalmologist, academician Zarifa Aliyeva in the Alley of Honor, as well as the Alley of Martyrs and Turkish Martyrs' Cemetery. The guests laid wreaths and flowers and paid tribute to their memory.
Colonel General Hasanov welcomed the Turkish guests at the meeting held in the Ministry of Defense and expressed his satisfaction with seeing them in Azerbaijan. Noting that bilateral relations between our countries are based on friendly and fraternal ties, the Defense Minister emphasized the importance of such meetings in terms of further expansion of military cooperation.
Colonel General Hasanov highlighted the operational situation on the Azerbaijani-Armenian conditional border, as well as the reforms carried out in the Azerbaijan Army under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mr. Ilham Aliyev.
Mr. Alpay noted that he is also the son of Azerbaijan and thanked for the hospitality. Mr. Alpay conveyed the greetings of the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Türkiye, Mr. Yaşar Guler, and expressed satisfaction with the current state of successfully developing Azerbaijani-Turkish military cooperation based on mutual trust and support.
Prospects for development in the fields of regional military cooperation, security issues, and other issues of mutual interest were discussed at the meeting, which was also attended by the Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to Azerbaijan, Cahit Bagci.
The Minister of Defense presented the “100th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918–2018)” jubilee medal to Mr. Alpay, who was awarded by the relevant Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Then the delegation led by Mr. Alpay met with the First Deputy Minister of Defense – Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijan Army, Colonel General Karim Valiyev and Adviser to the Minister of Defense, Colonel General Bakhtiyar Ersay.
Various models of Turkish-made aircraft were presented, and the sides exchanged gifts at the meetings.