The Azerbaijani president on Monday received the head and chief technology officer (CTO) of Turkish defense company Baykar in the capital Baku.
In a statement, the Azerbaijani presidency said that during the meeting with Selçuk Bayraktar, Ilham Aliyev underlined the achievements of Türkiye's defense industry in recent years, adding that Baykar's operations played a leading role in this regard.
Aliyev “highlighted the role of the products manufactured by the company in the destruction of Armenian invaders' military equipment during the Patriotic War,” the statement said.
“The successful development of friendly and brotherly relations between Azerbaijan and Türkiye in all fields including the military and defense industry was stressed during the conversation. They also shared views on prospects for cooperation,” it further said.
Baykar’s Bayraktar TB2s played a vital role during the conflict that erupted between Azerbaijan and the fellow ex-Soviet republic of Armenia, just as they do in later conflicts like the current war between Russia and Ukraine.
The combat drones, as expressed by many military specialists and defense experts, gave the Azerbaijani army the upper hand in both detecting and destroying enemy forces and military equipment, including armored vehicles, howitzers and Russian-made air defense systems.
Bayraktar, for his part, conveyed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's greetings to Aliyev and thanked him for the aid provided to Türkiye in the aftermath of the February earthquakes.
More than 50,000 people were killed by the back-to-back quakes in Türkiye, according to the latest official figures. Thousands of others were injured.
Aliyev, according to the statement, recalled his recent meeting with Erdoğan in Ankara.
He said the Turkish president's visits to Azerbaijani territories liberated from Armenia's occupation are of "particular importance," it added.
Bayraktar thanked Aliyev for his “warm hospitality,” saying on Twitter that they will continue for mutual goals and “the common future of #OneNationTwoStates.”
Bayraktar later held a meeting with Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov.
The Minister of Defense awarded Bayraktar with the medal "For Services in the Field of Military
Cooperation."
"Noting that the military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Türkiye is based on friendly and fraternal relations, the minister stressed that over time, these relations have further developed and strengthened," a statement by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry read.
It also said the relations between the presidents of the two countries play an important role in the development of bilateral cooperation.
"Thanking for the warm welcome and hospitality, S. Bayraktar expressed satisfaction with the visit to our country and noted the special significance of such meetings in terms of expanding mutual cooperation," the statement further noted.
The meeting discussed "the current state and prospects for the development of military-technical cooperation between Azerbaijan and Türkiye," it added.
Azerbaijan’s Aliyev previously awarded Bayraktar with the “Karabakh Order."
The Karabakh Order is awarded to soldiers and civilians who played a role in regaining control of Nagorno-Karabakh and its surrounding lands which were under illegal Armenian occupation for three decades and liberated by Azerbaijan.
