Azerbaijan, Turkiye discuss healthcare cooperation

By Sabina Mammadli

Azerbaijani and Turkish Health Ministries discussed opinions on Azerbaijani-Türkiye healthcare cooperation, implementation of joint projects, as well as on the successful development of multilateral relations between the two countries.

The discussion took place during Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca’s two-day official visit to Azerbaijan.

Welcoming the guests, Azerbaijani Health Minister Teymur Musayev outlined the excellence of cooperation between the two fraternal countries in healthcare and medical science, as in all other areas. He also noted that the digitalization of healthcare is among the major priorities of the country's ministry.

"Azerbaijan held a lot of discussions and meetings on digital healthcare with experienced Turkish officials as part of the delegation's working visit to the country in May 2022. The experience of Türkiye in the mentioned sector is priceless," he said.

Talking about the COVID-19 pandemic, Musayev emphasized the more intensive cooperation between the two countries during that period.

He also added that Azerbaijan and Türkiye established broad cooperation following Azerbaijan's restoration of independence. Musayev expressed the hope that the joint medical business forum would become an annual event.

"The Azerbaijan-Türkiye Healthcare Business Forum and Exhibition, organized for the first time in Azerbaijan, can serve as a great example. We are confident in our future cooperation and that the medical forum will create new opportunities for investors," Musayev stated.

In turn, Koca noted that the fraternal relations between Azerbaijan and Türkiye are a clear example of the countries' unity and solidarity.

The Turkish minister underscored the importance of the "Cooperation roadmap between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Türkiye and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2022-2023", signed in May 2022. Koca noted that the signed document will play an essential role in the development of the healthcare sector in both countries.

Furthermore, the minister invited his Azerbaijani colleague to the Medical Congress of the Turkic World to be held in Istanbul in October 2022.

Azerbaijan and Turkiye collaborate in a variety of economic sectors and have completed major energy and infrastructure projects, such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, and TANAP.

In 2021, Azerbaijan and Turkiye signed the Shusha Declaration on Allied Relations, which focuses on defense cooperation, promoting regional stability, and prosperity by establishing new transport routes.

The two countries set up a goal to bring the mutual trade turnover to $15 billion in 2023. As of 2021, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $4.6 billion. So far, Turkiye is Azerbaijan’s second-largest investor followed by the UK.

Additionally, Turkiye was one of the first countries that expressed its interest and readiness to participate in the restoration of Azerbaijan’s liberated territories.