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21:30 GMT
ISTANBUL, May 28 (KUNA) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday lauded "the strategic alliance" between his country and Azerbaijan.
"We first elevated our relationship with Azerbaijan to a strategic partnership, and last year to a strategic alliance with the Shusha Declaration," Turkey's Anadolu Agency (AA) quoted him as saying.
President Erdogan made the comments in speech at a Turkish flagship aviation, space and technology festival Teknofest, now held abroad for the first time, in the Azerbaijani capital Baku.
The two countries, he said, have taken bilateral ties to a level that is exemplary not only for the region but also for the entire world.
"We are organizing Teknofest, the world's most popular aviation, space and technology festival, in Baku, the pearl of the Caspian, with the slogan of 'one nation, two states, one festival,'" he pointed out.
The Turkish leader affirmed that his country strongly supports Azerbaijan's efforts to establish lasting peace with neighboring Armenia.
On the Turkish-Azeri cooperation, he said Turkey aims to ensure lasting peace, trust and neighborly relations, and strengthen stability in the region.
"We will maintain close solidarity, contact and coordination with Azerbaijan to realize these goals," he noted.
Raising the relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan to the level of an alliance, the Shusha Declaration was inked in a ceremony attended by the two countries' presidents in the Azerbaijani city of Shusha, liberated in November 2020 after nearly 30 years of Armenian occupation.
Turkey backed Azerbaijan during the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh region on the borders with Armenia in 2020.
For his part, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said the Teknofest festival is yet another sign of unity between the two countries.
The unity of Turkey and Azerbaijan is a major roadmap for the people of both countries, Aliyev said, adding that it is also a very important factor for the region and the world.
"The more confident steps Turkiye and Azerbaijan take, the stronger will be peace and stability in our region," he added.
Teknofest, first held on Turkish soil in 2018, has officially expanded to neighboring Azerbaijan this year and will run until May 29, according to AA report.
The four-day Teknofest Azerbaijan will feature 10 technology competitions in fields such as rockets, agriculture, and unmanned aerial vehicles. (end)
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