From Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkey

His Excellency Mr Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Dear brother,

Dear event participants.

Please, accept my most sincere and heartfelt greetings.

I wish the extension of the agreement on the Joint Development and Production Sharing for the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli fields until 2050 which is called a "contract of the century" will be beneficial to our countries.

I cordially congratulate Your Excellency Mr President and all those who ensured the extension of the agreement signed between Azerbaijan and the international consortium including the Turkish Petroleum Company on September 20, 1994.

This historical agreement and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which was put into operation in 2006, has enabled the production of the Azerbaijani oil and its safe transportation to the world market.

This was a significant contribution to the stability, development and strengthening of the strategic position of the entire region, including Azerbaijan.

Undoubtedly, this project is one of the best examples of fruitful cooperation at the international and regional level.

Having started with the delivery of Azerbaijani oil to the world through Turkey, this cooperation further deepened with Shah Daniz-1 and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline projects.

Finally, Shah Daniz-2 and Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline to be launched next year, God willing, will represent the peak of this cooperation.

Turkey and Azerbaijan, as "one nation, two states", have marched and will continue to march in solidarity, particularly in the energy sector in the years to come.

On this occasion, I express my deepest love for all my Azerbaijani brothers, including my dear friend President Ilham Aliyev.

Sincerely,

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

President of the Republic of Turkey