Azerbaijan to assume CIS chairmanship in 2027

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed his gratitude for supporting the decision on Azerbaijan's co-chairmanship in the CIS in 2027 as he addressed a limited-format meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State in Turkmenbashi.

"I would like to express my gratitude for supporting the decision on Azerbaijan's co-chairmanship of the CIS in 2027. We regard this as evidence of the high level of trust placed in our country and are ready to actively participate in the implementation of common tasks," Ilham Aliyev said.

He noted that Azerbaijan is also ready to assume the CIS chairmanship in 2028 and organize the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State in the autumn of that year.

The Azerbaijani leader recalled that this year, the CIS marks its thirty-fifth anniversary. Over the past years, the CIS has established itself as an essential platform for maintaining political dialogue, developing mutually beneficial cooperation, and strengthening ties between the countries, he noted.

According to him, the humanitarian cooperation is one of the key areas. The head of state expressed his gratitude to the CIS heads of state for supporting the decision to declare the city of Lachin the Cultural Capital of the Commonwealth.

"The large-scale events held in Lachin last year allowed our guests to become more closely acquainted with the rich and ancient history of this region. Our guests were able to witness firsthand its rapid revival, as well as the scale of the ongoing restoration work," Ilham Aliyev said.

In the first half of 2026, the volume of transit cargo through Azerbaijan increased by 10%, reaching nearly 8 million tons, he noted.

"Our medium-term goal is to increase the volume of cargo transported through Azerbaijan along both the East-West and North-South routes to 15 million tons on each corridor," Ilham Aliyev said.

Earlier, CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev said that the next meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State will be held in Uzbekistan.