© Photo: the Azerbaijani presidential website
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev addressed the meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and the Republic of Azerbaijan in Astana, the presidential press service reported.
He said that the invitation of Azerbaijan to the meetings of the Heads of State of Central Asia testifies to the friendly and fraternal ties and evolving cooperation between our countries.
“This is my 16th visit to Central Asian countries in the last two years. During this time, my colleagues from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have visited Azerbaijan 15 times in total,” Ilham Aliyev said.
The head of state said that Azerbaijan and the countries of Central Asia represent a single historical, cultural and geopolitical space, with growing strategic importance. He noted that the countries' peoples share a centuries-old history, culture, religion and common values.
© Photo: the Azerbaijani presidential website
The head of state stressed that one of the manifestations of our brotherly relations is the support for the restoration of the territories of Karabakh liberated from occupation.
"During almost 30 years of occupation, Armenia destroyed nine towns and hundreds of settlements in the then-occupied territories. Currently, the large-scale reconstruction work is underway in the liberated territories, the former IDPs are returning to their ancestral lands,” Ilham Aliyev said.
The Azerbaijani President expressed his gratitude to the Presidents of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan for the school named after Mirzo Ulugbek in Fuzuli, the Kurmangazy Children's Creativity Center, and the secondary school under construction in Aghdam.
© Photo: the Azerbaijani presidential website
According to him, growing threats and challenges globally require the strengthening of cooperation between the countries in the sphere of defense and security. In this context, he emphasized the international operational-tactical command-staff exercises “Birlestik-2024” held in Kazakhstan in July, in which Azerbaijan also took part.
The head of state noted Azerbaijan is interested in close cooperation with Central Asian countries in the field of renewable energy.
“The Memorandum of Cooperation on interconnection of energy systems of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan” signed this May, is the initial step in our cooperation in the field of green energy,” Ilham Aliyev said.
The head of state said that another important direction of our cooperation is interaction in the sphere of transportation and transit.
“The increase of the throughput capacity of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway from 1 million to 5 million tons, the measures taken to expand the annual throughput capacity of the Alat International Trade Seaport from 15 million to 25 million tons, the orders for new vessels for Azerbaijan's commercial fleet at the Caspian Sea, as well as the infrastructure projects being carried out by the Central Asian countries, further increase the practical significance of the Middle Corridor,” Ilham Aliyev said.
He noted the Digital Silk Road project will contribute to the development of digital infrastructure and digital security.
