During his visit to Germany in February 2007, Azerbaijan's president, İlham Aliyev, had a warm meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, leading to a new breakthrough in relations between the two countries. Germany celebrated 2008 as the Year of Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan celebrated 2009 as the Year of Germany. Exhibitions, plays, movies, concerts and literature nights promoting Azerbaijan were organized in the most important cities of Germany. (Check out www.kulturjahr-aserbaidschan.de).The trade volume between Turkey and Azerbaijan has exceeded $2 million. Turkish businessmen have invested a total of $6 million, of which $3 million are invested in non-oil sectors, in Azerbaijan. Each year, 12,000 truckloads of goods are transported from Turkey to Azerbaijan. But taking into consideration the fact that Azerbaijan is a country of 8 million people that is becoming richer with its oil and natural gas income and that Turkey is a border country, economic relations between the two countries aren't as robust as they should be. Furthermore, air transportation is expensive between the two countries considering how geographically close they are.
A common policy on Armenia hasn't been developed between Turkey and Azerbaijan. Although Armenia occupies close to 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territories, has accused Turkey of genocide, does not recognize Turkey's territorial unity, has victimized Turkey with terror activities, has won support from other world parliaments on the Armenian genocide claim, has had its borders closed with Turkey and has carried out activities against both Turkey and Azerbaijan, the two countries haven't been able to form a common policy on Armenia. There is no common fund, no strategic center has been set up, no joint conferences or meetings have been organized and no joint efforts have been encouraged.
A joint think tank is necessary not only for the Armenian issue but also to build a common future. Joint think tanks have always been set up by countries sharing common interests. Take for example, the research centers set up by Germany and America, Germany and Turkey, Germany and Austria, Russia and Turkey, and Poland and Ukraine.
The work of Turkish nongovernmental organizations in Azerbaijan has not been supported by Ankara. Turkish nongovernmental organizations and Turkish political parties prefer opening offices in Washington, D.C., and Brussels to Baku. Turkey's uncaring perspective toward Azerbaijan is the same as Azerbaijan's uncaring perspective toward Turkey. While Azerbaijan's most important foundation, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, has an active office in Moscow headed by President Aliyev's oldest daughter, Leyla Aliyev, the foundation has not done anything more than consider opening an office in Ankara.
While there are many respectable academics from around the world, including the US and Israel, that teach at the recently founded Foreign Affairs Academy in Baku, where many young diplomats study, there are no Turkish academics teaching there.
It is time for Turkish intellectuals and politicians to develop a closer relationship with Azerbaijan. We think it is natural for Azerbaijanis to speak Turkey's Turkish, but Turks don't show the same effort to learn Azeri Turkish. While many Azerbaijani tourists visit Turkey, very few Turkish tourists visit Azerbaijan. Most visits to the country are for bureaucratic and business purposes.
SETA's Caucasus Workshop series has organized an activity that was long overdue for Turkey. We hope these workshops are organized every year. By adding another block into place each year, a common future that is based not only on military and civilian bureaucrats and politicians but also on the entire nation and with the aim of improving friendship, peace and prosperity between Turkey and the Caucasian countries will be built.
