Azerbaijan

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan heads to Turkish Cyprus on July 19 to mark the anniversary of Turkey's 1974 intervention, a visit which is closely monitored by the European Union and the Greek Cypriots as the trip is seen as a show of strength to support a two-state solution to the island's decades-long division.

The total worth of projects undertaken by Turkish contractors abroad hit $6.5 billion in the first half of 2021, according to a report released by the Turkish Contractors Association (TMB) on July 12.

Citing the Trade Ministry's data, the report said that Turkish construction firms undertook 100 projects in 33 countries by the end of June this year.

Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu will participate in Brussels on Monday in the meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers from EU member states (Foreign Affairs Council - FAC), a meeting debating geopolitical aspects related to the new digital technologies, EU's Strategic Compass and the situation in Ethiopia, as well as recent developments in Afghanistan and Lebanon.

A cooperation and handover agreement for the Fier South gas facility was signed between Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) AG, the Albanian Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, and Albgaz Sh.a., a statement from TAP said on July 7.

TAP will design, procure and construct the gas exit point with a multimillion Euro investment.

The traces of war are quickly being healed in the Azerbaijani city of Shusha, the "cultural capital" of the country, which had come under heavy bombardment during an almost 44-day fighting with Armenia.

Daily life in the city started returning to normal as officials work on an inventory of historical structures that had turned into ruins and military units.

Only passengers travelling to the United Kingdom are subjected to quarantine. 

The majority of countries in the region require confirmation of vaccination or negative PCR or antigen test made less than 48 or 72 hours prior to travel in order to avoid 7-14-day quarantine.

Some countries require completion of online health forms or medical checks upon arrival. 

Turkish contractors play a key role in the reconstruction of liberated regions in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov told Hürriyet Daily News.

Turkey will persevere its rights in the eastern Mediterranean and will continue its exploration activities for the hydrocarbon resources in the area, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on July 2.

Turkish and Azerbaijani armies started on June 28 joint military exercises in Baku, the latter's Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The Mustafa Kemal Atatürk 2021 "joint live-fire tactical exercises" are being held in line with an agreement on bilateral military cooperation, the ministry said.

Natural gas imports increased to around 4.72 billion cubic meters (bcm) from approximately 2.63 bcm for the same month of 2020, Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) said in its monthly natural gas market report.