UPDATE - Turkish president attends tripartite summit with Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan

UPDATES WITH AGREEMENTS, JOINT DECLARATION

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday attended the first tripartite summit with his counterparts from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.

Erdogan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkmen leader Serdar Berdimuhamedov met in the western Turkmen city of Awaza to address steps to further deepen cooperation between the three countries in various areas, particularly in trade, energy and transportation.

Ahead of the summit, the leaders attended a family photo shoot.

The presidents signed five agreements in various areas including trade, culture, energy, and transport, which aim to strengthen cooperation.

Also, the countries signed a joint declaration following the summit.

Earlier, Erdogan held separate closed-door meetings both with Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the chairman of the People’s Council of Turkmenistan, the upper chamber of the parliament, and his Turkmen counterpart Serdar Berdimuhamedov.

The Turkish leader will later meet with Aliyev on the sidelines of the summit.