© Photo: website of the President of Azerbaijan
The opening ceremony of the Igdir-Nakhchivan gas pipeline was held in Türkiye. Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took part in it.
The opening ceremony of the Igdir-Nakhchivan gas pipeline was held in Ankara via video link, the press service of the President of Azerbaijan reports.
The event was attended by the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Türkiye, Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Earlier, the head of the Azerbaijani state arrived in Türkiye on a visit.
The leaders of both countries spoke at the ceremony, and then launched the Igdir-Nakhchivan gas pipeline.
In his speech at the opening, Ilham Aliyev called today an important day in the history of Turkish-Azerbaijani relations.
"As was noted earlier, a year and a half ago, together with the esteemed president, we laid the foundation of this gas pipeline in Nakhchivan, and now we are participating in this opening ceremony,”
- Ilham Aliyev said.
The president emphasized that today Azerbaijan and Türkiye are implementing large-scale projects.
New link between Azerbaijan and Türkiye
As Emin Garibli, PhD in Economics and Associate Professor of the International Economics Department at UNEC, noted in an interview with the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, the Turkish pipeline will open a new era in the economic development of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which previously received gas only via Iran.
"Firstly, the Igdir-Nakhchivan pipeline sharply increases the energy supply to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which is certainly significant for Azerbaijan. Secondly, this is another joint economic project with Türkiye, making our ties in the economic sphere stronger," the expert said.
"Now Nakhchivan's energy security will be ensured without the need to wait for Armenia to fulfill its obligations on the Zangezur corridor. This problem has not been solved yet, but Azerbaijan was not going to wait. Increasing gas supplies to Nakhchivan via Türkiye will allow solving the pressing issues of the NAR, including the development of both industrial production and agriculture," Emin Garibli said.
