Parliamentary speakers of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Pakistan hail new "Asian century"

Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Trkiye Mustafa Sentop (C), Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova (L), and Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan Raja Pervaiz Ashraf pose for a photo at the Second Trilateral Meeting of the Speakers of the Parliaments of Trkiye, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan, in Istanbul, Trkiye, on July 21, 2022. The new century is the "Asian century" filled with opportunities, said parliamentary speakers of Trkiye, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan in a meeting here on Thursday. (Xinhua)

ISTANBUL, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The new century is the "Asian century" filled with opportunities, said parliamentary speakers of Trkiye, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan in a meeting here on Thursday.

"World's geo-politics and economic centers are shifting towards Asia, and it's happening fast," said Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Trkiye Mustafa Sentop at the Second Trilateral Meeting of the Speakers of the Parliaments of Trkiye, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan.

"Without a doubt, the emergence of the New Silk Road will add a great haste to the development and rejuvenation of the region," Sentop said. "And in that project, our new initiative Middle (Transport) Corridor will be taking an important part through our new transport routes and energy transfer infrastructure investments," he added.

The trilateral meeting highlighted the importance of strengthening comprehensive cooperation between Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan, especially in areas that would contribute to regional connectivity, transportation, trade, energy, relations between peoples, education, social and cultural exchange, and tourism.

With most of its lands in Asia and parts in Europe, Trkiye has been investing heavily in the Middle Corridor initiative that would act as a bridge between China and Europe through railroads, with more efficient transfer than the northern land routes or the southern naval route of Suez Canal.