A roundtable meeting was held on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the "Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Cooperation in the Field of Media between Türkiye and Azerbaijan" under the theme "An Overview of Joint Activities, Future Goals".
The meeting was jointly organised by the Presidency's Directorate of Communications of the Republic of Türkiye's Communications Counsellor's Office in Baku, Azerbaijan's Media Development Agency (MEDIA), and the STM, and attended by the Chairperson of the STM and Member of the Parliament (MP) Zahid Oruç, Executive Director of Azerbaijan's Media Development Agency Ahmet Ismayılov, Türkiye's Ambassador to Baku Birol Akgün, President of the Press Council Reshad Majid, Director General of REAL Analysis and Information Center Mirshahin Agayev, President of Telegraph Media Group Aynur Cemalkızı, Press Counsellor of Türkiye's Embassy in Baku Cihangir İşbilir, the Anadolu Agency's Asia-Caucasus Regional Head Tolga Özgenç, MPs Sevil Mikayılova, Vugar Rahimzade, and many media members.
Initially, the attendees of the meeting viewed a video featuring the unity and brotherhood between Türkiye and Azerbaijan. Chairperson of the STM Zahid Oruç conveyed Vice President Hikmet Hajiyev's greetings and congratulations. Oruç expressed his gratitude to Hajiyev for his major contribution to the Türkiye-Azerbaijan Media Platform. Press Counsellor of Türkiye's Embassy in Baku Cihangir İşbilir read aloud the message by The Presidency's Head of Communications of the Republic of Türkiye, Fahrettin Altun.
In his message, Fahrettin Altun said, "The "Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Cooperation in the Field of Media between Türkiye and Azerbaijan" that we signed with my esteemed brother Hikmet Hajiyev on December 10, 2020, under the auspices of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President İlham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, as well as the Joint Media Platform we have established, serve as a comprehensive roadmap for our collaboration in the field of communication and media.
This memorandum of understanding has strengthened our collaboration in the media and communication field with our brotherly country, Azerbaijan, for four productive years.
Throughout this period, we have held numerous meetings as part of bilateral relations and on the sidelines of the Organisation of Turkic States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. We have made efforts to further enhance our cooperation on these occasions.
In 2021, we held the inaugural meeting of the Türkiye-Azerbaijan Joint Media Platform and decided to establish committees for "public diplomacy," "international media," "strategic communication," "training," "legislation and regulation," and "digitalisation and internationalisation" as a part of the platform.
Our inventory and project planning for the establishment of committees have been finalised in this context.
With the swift establishment of our committees, we will implement our projects for the mutual promotion of our countries.
In the ongoing process, our institutionalised joint public diplomacy mechanism will enhance the quality of our efforts and further strengthen our ability to combat disinformation. In this context, it is crucial to accurately inform the global public opinion.
In this context, the Communications Counsellor's Office in Baku, in collaboration with TRT and Anadolu Agency, continues its uninterrupted cooperation with our friendly and brotherly nation, Azerbaijan, in media gatherings, news sharing, joint efforts against disinformation and training sessions.
With the assistance of our esteemed colleagues, we will hold a panel and roundtable discussion in Baku under the theme 'A Fairer World Is Possible' on March 4, 2025, to convey a powerful message to the global community."
Zahid Oruç, one of the moderators and organisers of the event, emphasised the significance of the gathering of Azerbaijani and Turkish media at a time of global change and the pursuit of a new world security architecture, adding, "Let us first take a brief look at the progress we have made so far. Despite the complicated formations and organisations, the unbreakable Azerbaijan-Türkiye unity, which has a proud history, has reached new heights in the past five years. Our 150-year-old national press was established, developed, and emerged on the global stage in perfect harmony with our brotherly nation. The renowned thinkers of Azerbaijan and Türkiye have always drawn inspiration from one another and derived mutual strength. In social thought, shared Turkic ideals have contributed to the Renaissance and nation-building. Intellectuals such as Ali Bey Huseynzade, Ahmet Ağaoğlu, Ziya Gökalp are the common masterminds of the Turkic world as they share the same heritage and cultural roots. As is well known, Hasan Bey Zerdabi, the founder of our national press, brought the fonts of the 'Ekinci' newspaper, i.e. the steel alphabet, from Istanbul; for this reason, he named it the "Turkish newspaper." The press of both countries played an important role in keeping the notions of Turkism, common history, religion, and national unity alive throughout the Republic and the subsequent 70 years of the Soviet era."
Oruç emphasised that since the start of the 44-day war, the unity of Aliyev-Erdoğan has provided the much-needed morale and vigour to media professionals, who bear the burden of the armed conflict, and it has become a symbol of spiritual-political solidarity, saying, "The Turkish press, by keeping our liberation battle on the agenda, did not give priority to other subjects for a single day. In every domain—motherland as well as blue and cyber homeland —one name echoed with unwavering emotion: Azerbaijan!" The press, by recognising the historical mission of the Commander in Chief and the 8th November Victory at the same summit as Ghazi Mustafa Kemal's Liberation Movement, united the information sphere of both countries. The decision to declare November 10, 2020, as Victory Day coincided with the commemoration of Great Atatürk, leading to an immediate adjustment of the victory calendar. This act demonstrated our President's respect and reverence for the Turkish and the world leader. The press, which fought shoulder to shoulder alongside our state and our Armed Forces, was also a great army."
Oruç asserted that the Shusha Summit of the press was an outcome of the 44-day war and said, "During the earthquake and forest fires in Türkiye, it was the Azerbaijani media who first rushed to the natural disaster zones, just like our state. Thus, "The Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Cooperation in the Field of Media between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Türkiye" was signed by Vice President Hikmet Hajiyev of Azerbaijan and Head of Communications Fahrettin Altun with the participation of the heads of state. This document represented a unity of purpose and conviction, bringing together our media—victorious on the battlefield—on a common platform and laying the foundation for future triumphs. The Joint Media Platform is a special mission, continuation or an equivalent of our Armed Forces in the field of information. The joint media alliance is something that cements our military-political alliance. The unity of media forces that are capable of conducting information warfare is as critical as the alliance between armies. The joint fight against disinformation in the memorandum of understanding stems from the fact that the forces conducting an information war against Türkiye and Azerbaijan are identical. Yes, our information adversaries are the same. Only together can we beat them.
It is great to come together in the Victory Platform. Those who went to cover the war came back enlightened! Our homeland is safeguarded by the media's flagbearer! May our victorious century, which began in 2020, be glorious!"
Türkiye's Ambassador to Baku Birol Akgün stated that all parties are making efforts to enhance bilateral relations and said, "We expect the media to exercise extreme caution in the dissemination of news regarding both countries. Türkiye-Azerbaijan ties, setting a precedent for relations on a global scale, will further develop, and as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, 'Nothing will be able to harm this brotherhood.' Türkiye-Azerbaijan unity is extremely important in the context of the evolving world order. We might say that no one trusts anyone nowadays. In such an environment, Türkiye-Azerbaijan unity is of great significance. As President Ilham Aliyev said, the Turkic world is our big family. Our biggest political gain is the increased unity and solidarity between our nations."
According to Executive Director of MEDIA Ahmet Ismayılov, Azerbaijan and Türkiye's media organisations have collaborated on the implementation of numerous projects over the past five years. Ismayılov noted that within the framework of the "War Journalism Training Program" and "Media Literacy" projects held in Ankara, there was an exchange of useful ideas between the media organisations of the two countries, and said, "Encouraging the exchange of experience on current issues at the annual Shusha Global Media Forum is one of the important dimensions of cooperation. The Shusha Global Media Forum, which is of great importance to our country, and which coincides with National Press Day, gives a significant boost to cooperation in this field. Representatives from more than 30 Azerbaijani institutions in charge of media relations visited Türkiye in October 2023. It is possible to describe the relations between Azerbaijan and Türkiye as an unprecedented model of cooperation. We steadfastly support each other on international stages. I believe that our bonds of brotherhood will grow stronger in years to come.
President of the Press Council Rashad Majid emphasised that this is the information age and that Azerbaijani media should be at the forefront in this period. The Council President drew attention to the threat of disinformation spread by artificial intelligence in the modern period, saying, "There is an immense spread of disinformation through artificial intelligence right now. To combat this, our media must act very fast. MEDIA's efforts in this regard cannot be denied. They act on these issues quickly. Also, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan held a forum on combating disinformation. I find it quite valuable."
Director General of the REAL Analysis and Information Center Mirshahin Agayev stated that a variety of countries, particularly certain groups in the West, are interested in finding the weaknesses of Azerbaijani citizens.
Agayev said, "In times like this, Azerbaijani and Turkish media should work together. A great responsibility rests on the Turkish and Azerbaijani media. In 1992 we could not even get two helicopters from Türkiye. Today, we fly in the same Bayraktar. We are the representatives of Ekinci, we are also representatives of Akıncı."
During the meeting, which lasted for over four hours, past years' efforts were reviewed. Suggestions were made to further enhance the cooperation between the media organisations of the two brotherly countries and to protect our national interests. The organisers declared that no suggestion will be ruled out and such beneficial events will continue to be held.