- Mr. Selahattin, let's start with your impressions about our country...
- I have visited Azerbaijan several times before. I came for the first time about ten years ago. Since then, especially in the last five years, I have witnessed positive changes in terms of urbanism, economy and people's well-being.
- In addition to your legal work, you are also the president of INTISAD. Please give information about your association and the work you do.
- Our association was established in Istanbul in 2017 and we currently have representation in 9 countries around the world. We have three main goals: First, the world is becoming a global city and we need an international network. For this reason, we set ourselves the goal of creating an international friendship and trade network; Secondly, businessmen are the locomotives of the society they represent, and the country and the people have a share in every success. For this reason, we are indebted to society and we must implement social projects both in our country and abroad in order to pay our debt with what we have earned. For example, in Turkey, traditionally iftar dinners are provided to the families of martyrs and veterans, aid to young people in Africa, scholarship programs, etc. We are organizing. can be shown; Thirdly, we wanted to transform our association into a factory of businessmen, in a figurative sense. There were people who gave me advice and guidance during my student years. Thanks to them, I learned very well what to expect after graduation. INTISAD also tries to be a model for students. We provide them with work and internship opportunities so that they do not have any problems in transitioning to business and social life.
- How do you evaluate the level of economic and commercial relations between Türkiye and Azerbaijan?
- When I first came to Azerbaijan 10 years ago, although the landscape was very hot, it was not as close as it is now. So, before the Karabakh Victory and the earthquake, we were cousins, and now we are brothers. As a state and a nation, we stood by each other in the most difficult days. After the signing of the Shusha Declaration, the trade volume between our countries began to increase. Many opportunities were created for Turkish businessmen in the liberated lands and other regions. But is this enough? - Of course not. Because the current potential is many times greater. It is possible to easily increase the current trade volume, which is approximately 20 billion dollars, to 50 billion dollars. One of the main reasons for our visit to Azerbaijan was participation in the Azerbaijan-Türkiye Investment Forum. As an association, we plan to implement many projects here in the near future. Of course, interaction will also increase the trading cycle. Since Azerbaijan and Turkey are located in a strategic region, our countries play the role of a gateway to each other's wider economic space and new markets.
- How do you evaluate the economic opportunities of the Zangezur corridor?
- The existence of a dry canal between Turkey and Azerbaijan means the reopening of the direct road from Edirne to China and the revival of the historical Silk Road. The Turkish state has implemented comprehensive transportation projects across the country in the last 10 years. The opening of the Zangezur Corridor will give Azerbaijan and other sister countries new opportunities to enter the world market through Turkey. At the same time, we will be able to easily communicate with our sister countries through Azerbaijan. So, together we will become a major economic and then political center. Of course, some people don't like this situation. However, we cannot stop just because someone doesn't like it or doesn't want it.
- We are at the stage where the world's security architecture is being rebuilt. We need to be strong in order to take the place we deserve in the new world order. In this respect, relations within the framework of the Organization of Turkish States are of strategic importance. How can these relationships be improved?
- No matter how many states are the main actors of the ongoing global processes, borders are actually drawn in many areas. In other words, a war or problem occurring in one part of the world seriously affects other countries. Therefore, we need to quickly solve domestic problems, raise our heads and see how much of a say we have in the ongoing global processes. So we must think about our place among those who rule the world. For this, we need a strong organization that we can trust in terms of political, economic, military power and ideology. Against the background of all this, we need to strengthen our trade volume within TDT and implement many issues such as common customs, tax advantages and visa-free travel. If we want to have a say in the fate of the world on various issues, we must do these.
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