Baku, Ankara discuss health sector cooperation

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan and Turkiye have discussed cooperation in the health sector, Azernews reports, citing the Health Ministry.

The discussion took place during a meeting between Azerbaijan’s Health Ministry and a delegation of the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkiye.

During the meeting, Azerbaijani Health Minister Teymur Musayev stressed the mutual support of Turkiye and Azerbaijan to each other. Expressing satisfaction with the interaction between the two countries in the field of medicine, Musayev recalled the visit of the Azerbaijani Health Ministry delegation to Turkiye in May this year.

“During the two-day visit, we had fruitful discussions at a meeting with Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca. We also got acquainted with the activities of the leading medical institutions of the brotherly country,” he said.

The minister called it useful to study Turkiye’s experience in all areas of healthcare, noting that the future development of healthcare lies in digitalization.

“The experience of brotherly Turkiye in this area is invaluable. The Turkish model in this area is exemplary,” he said.

In turn, Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkiye representatives expressed interest in cooperation with Azerbaijan’s Health Ministry in the fields of medical tourism and research in the field of digital transformation of healthcare.

Additionally, the parties discussed issues of bilateral cooperation in the field of healthcare and joint projects. At the end of the meeting, the parties agreed to develop cooperation.

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.

Turkiye imports Azerbaijani natural gas through the South Caucasus Gas Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum) and TANAP. Azerbaijan supplies gas to Turkiye only from the Shah Deniz field.

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