President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday inaugurated the third airport built in territories liberated from illegal Armenian occupation during the 2020 war.
Accompanied by a high-level delegation, Erdoğan arrived in Lachin to attend events marking Azerbaijan’s Independence Day.
He was welcomed at the Lachin International Airport by Aliyev and Türkiye’s ambassador to Baku, Birol Akgun.
At the ceremony, the leaders cut the ribbon and were presented with symbolic keys.
Accompanying Erdoğan are Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat, and several senior advisers and ruling party officials.
After the inauguration, Erdoğan and Aliyev spoke to the press at the hotel where the two held talks.
"First and foremost, Lachin getting such a magnificent airport as the third airport in the region has elevated Azerbaijan to a much stronger position. After Fuzuli, Lachin and the ceremonies to be held here will hopefully enable Azerbaijan to look toward a broader horizon," said the Turkish president..
The Lachin International Airport, whose foundation was laid in 2021, stands out not only for its political and symbolic value but also for its engineering complexity.
Built in mountainous terrain, the airport is Azerbaijan’s highest-altitude airport, located at an elevation of 1,800 meters. Its construction required extensive excavation and leveling of rocky land.
The airport is located 30 kilometers from Lachin, 70 km from Shusha, and 60 km from Kalbajar. It features a 3,000-meter-long and 60-meter-wide runway, and a terminal building capable of serving 200 passengers per hour.
On Monday, Azerbaijan’s Prime Minister Ali Asadov signed a decree granting Lachin airport international status. Notifications were sent to global aviation authorities, bringing the total number of international airports in Azerbaijan to nine.
The airport is expected to play a major role in boosting tourism and commerce in the region.
Erdoğan and Aliyev had also inaugurated the Fuzuli and the Zangilan airports in October 2021 and October 2022, respectively, both constructed in formerly occupied areas.
The Fuzuli International Airport was the first airport built in the regions liberated by Azerbaijan during the 44-day war with Armenia in the fall of 2020.
Meeting following the inauguration, Erdoğan and Aliyev discussed bilateral ties and exchanged views on regional and global developments.
Erdoğan also took part in the second Türkiye-Azerbaijan-Pakistan trilateral summit, which was also attended by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Speaking during the summit, the Turkish president said they regard the enhancement of "our solidarity and capacity for joint action in the face of challenges not as a choice, but as a necessity."
"Developments taking place in our region" show how important solidarity between the three countries is, he added.
Türkiye will jointly contribute to projects such as the (Türkiye-Azerbaijan-Pakistan) Development Road, the Middle Corridor, and the North-South Transport Corridor, Erdoğan noted.
"With the liberation of Azerbaijani lands that were under occupation for 30 years, we now hope for the region to become the center of stability, prosperity, and development," he added.
Aliyev expressed gratitude to both Türkiye and Pakistan for their political and moral support during the war with Armenia.
He said there are vast opportunities between them to achieve mutual benefits by leveraging their countries' strategic position and economic potential.
He further said that Azerbaijan has invested more than $20 billion in the Turkish economy, declaring Baku's readiness to invest $2 billion in Pakistan's economy.
Aliyev also touched on energy relations, stating that due to Azerbaijan and Türkiye's cooperation, the energy map of the region, as well as the wider geography, has changed.
"Our countries have played an important role in ensuring energy security, and today, large-scale projects have been launched in the direction of the production and export of renewable energy.
"At the same time, the transport routes connecting Asia and Europe through Azerbaijan and Türkiye are of strategic importance," he added.
He noted they are confident that Pakistan's close participation in this initiative through the development of a multimodal freight route will further boost cooperation.
Aliyev also described defense cooperation as one of the important issues of their partnership, saying that their military cooperation strengthens peace and stability in a wide geography.
"We should also explore new areas of cooperation, such as digital innovation, artificial intelligence, and space technologies," he said.
