President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has departed for Azerbaijan to attend the ceremony to be held in the capital, Baku, on the occasion of November 8 Victory Day.
İstanbul Governor Davut Gül and the AK Party İstanbul Provincial Chairman Abdullah Özdemir, along with other officials, saw off President Erdoğan at the Atatürk Airport State Guesthouse.
Accompanying President Erdoğan on his flight to Azerbaijan were Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan, Minister of National Defence Yaşar Güler, Director of the National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) İbrahim Kalın, Presidency's Head of Communications Burhanettin Duran, President of the Defence Industry Agency Haluk Görgün, and Chief Advisor to the President on Foreign Policy and Security Akif Çağatay Kılıç.
On the margins of the visit, President Erdoğan is also expected to hold talks with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan on bilateral, regional, and global issues.