On August 23, the first meeting of the Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Supreme Interstate Council was held in Tashkent with the participation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Publika.az reports that the President of Uzbekistan spoke at the meeting first.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s speech
– Dear Ilham Heydar oglu.
Participants of our meeting today.
Dear Ilham Heydar, I welcome you and the members of the Azerbaijani delegation, our brothers in Uzbekistan. I am glad to welcome you again. Welcome to Uzbekistan.
Let me emphasize that your current state visit is truly historic. First, as we talked about today in a limited meeting, we will sign an agreement on alliance relations. Most importantly, we were able to raise Uzbekistan-Azerbaijani relations to the highest level of interstate interaction together with you for several years. This is our real success. I think that today people will hear that we will sign an agreement on alliance relations. This will serve to bring our peoples closer together. First of all, we have brought our countries closer, as I have already said, our peoples really treat each other as brothers. Each of our meetings brings our peoples closer, and I am happy to say that today your historic visit to Uzbekistan is taking place in the true sense of the word.
Secondly, today we are holding the first session of the Supreme Interstate Council. I consider this Council under the chairmanship of the heads of state to be a more effective mechanism for enriching the development of our multi-planned cooperation with concrete content. Because we give specific tasks at every meeting, and this time was no exception. We had a wide discussion in a limited meeting. Today we will talk about it in a broad composition and we will make joint decisions until our next meeting. Let me note that in the modern world great results are achieved when there is political will and mutual support. We have the political will of two presidents and support from both sides. I think our teams already see it and feel it deeply.
Dear Ilham Heydar, first of all I would like to sincerely congratulate you on the successful implementation of reforms in Azerbaijan. As close neighbors and brothers, we rejoice in your success. We see how dynamically your country is developing and we are very happy about it. You were able to implement the strategy of diversification of the economy, sustainable development in Azerbaijan is provided at the expense of new fields and infrastructures. All this leads to a steady increase in the welfare of the population. The country’s international reputation is growing. This year, Azerbaijan will host one of the biggest events in the world – the Global Climate Summit. Such a summit is held for the first time in our vast region. It never happened. This once again confirms the recognition of the effectiveness of your foreign policy course. I wish you great success. We talked about it, we will always be with you, and we are also making serious preparations for this summit.
Dear Ilham Heydar oglu, in front of the delegations, I would like to mention once again your historical role in the restoration of the territorial integrity of your country and the return of the ancient lands of Azerbaijan. You have fulfilled the greatest wish of your father and your people. Today, Karabakh is reviving before our eyes, turning into a flourishing land. I saw them with my own eyes both in Fuzuli and in Shusha and I was happy.
Large-scale social infrastructure and industrial projects are implemented. In a limited meeting, we discussed in detail the possibilities of expanding cooperation on the development of our territories, we also agreed on the adoption of the program – road map, the holding of the third Forum of the regions, as well as the creation of tourist complexes in the capital. We have already talked about it.
Dear members of delegations, Uzbekistan-Azerbaijani cooperation has expanded significantly over the past few years. There are close contacts between parliaments, governments, ministries and departments. Meetings of the Intergovernmental Commission, Business Council, forums, exhibitions and cultural events are held regularly. Partnerships between business circles are expanding.
I am very glad that Mr. Ilham Heydar oglu invited the business leaders of Azerbaijan to our meeting, they are good businessmen. I think we will see the results soon. A serious result will be achieved. I am sure that this dialogue will be very productive.
In general, when assessing the current level of bilateral relations, I would like to emphasize that a lot of work has been done with joint efforts. But there is more work to be done, because we presidents already know each other and businessmen, companies, ministries and departments by heart, as we said when we were in the official part. This also shows that because we meet often, real results are achieved.
Next year we will celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations. We must come to this jubilee with serious results. I will focus on the main tasks in this regard. First, I propose to develop a timetable for intensive political contacts and exchange of coordinated action on agenda items throughout the year. In addition, our foreign ministries are preparing a program of events related to the upcoming significant event. Secondly, Ilham Heydar oglu, if you support it, we agreed that – I already said this at the limited meeting – to declare the next year “the year of Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan economic cooperation” and a comprehensive program covering 20 priority directions that we focused on in the limited meeting let’s accept. Ahead are the tasks of multiplying the volume of commodity turnover and moving industrial cooperation to a new phase, including implementing projects in third countries. We talked about it very seriously. A portfolio of promising projects worth more than 2 billion dollars has been prepared for our meeting. We will discuss their implementation in detail today with business representatives.
In addition, the Joint Investment Fund also began to operate effectively. As you said, if there are projects, we will expand the Fund from both sides. Because it is a very good support for business and real projects. I believe that this tool of project support should work like a clock. Because they are working, but today we will also listen to businessmen and support them in this matter. Thirdly, it is important to strengthen mutual relations between our countries through transport-communication, energy and other infrastructure projects. We are already actively working in a multilateral format. I fully support this cooperation. I also consider it important to increase the number of flights, make surface and air transportation as light as possible, and apply digital solutions. We have already talked about this in a limited meeting.
Fourth, it is necessary to continue active exchange in the fields of culture and art, education, health, youth and information policy, sports. Our ministers responsible for these areas should hold regular meetings.
Today there will be a joint concert with the participation of art masters, including legendary cultural figures Farrukh Zakirov and Polad Bulbuloglu. Recently, we gave them the title People’s artists of our countries with the honorable Ilham Heydar oglu.
In addition, we propose to create a mechanism for regular meetings of rectors of universities in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.
Dear Ilham Heydar oglu, in one of our meetings in Baku, also in a limited meeting, I said that we talked about the important information-analytical context of the development of our bilateral relations, joint projects related to the potential of in-depth analysis and uncovering of new opportunities of our cooperation. Today’s meeting is attended by the head of one of the economic analysis centers. If you agree, he and his team will go directly to Azerbaijan after the holidays, probably next week – after our Independence Day. If you don’t mind, after the holidays, not a week, but ten days will come, with the exception of twenty areas, we will conduct a good economic analysis of the areas that we will develop in the future, and we can also uncover other resources and reserves. He and his team will soon be in Baku to prepare for this research with Azerbaijani partners. I hope this will be a good help for the future.
So, dear Ilham Heydar, this is all I want to say. We talked in great detail in the limited meeting. I give you the word with pleasure.
Then the President of Azerbaijan made a speech.
Speech of President Ilham Aliyev
– My dear brother, dear Shavkat Miromonovich, thank you. First of all, I would like to thank you again for the invitation. Brother, I am visiting Uzbekistan again with great pleasure. I am glad to meet again.
As you mentioned, we have already reviewed the broad agenda of our relations in a limited meeting, and we have identified new directions of cooperation. Of course, today we will discuss important issues of our mutual relations within the framework of the first session of the Interstate Council.
I would like to express my special thanks for your words regarding the restoration of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and I also express my special gratitude to you for visiting the liberated territories several times. Of course, on behalf of the residents of Fuzuli and the entire population of Azerbaijan, I express my special thanks for the help in the restoration of the liberated territories. This was the first gift of a foreign state to Azerbaijan for infrastructure restoration. The school named after Mirza Ulugbey was opened exactly one year ago. Today, on August 23, we visited Fuzuli and Shusha with you. There are already 500 students studying there. Considering that residents will return, their number will increase.
Strong relations between our countries have passed all tests and reached the highest level today. As you mentioned, this is a relationship of alliance and nothing higher than that. We achieved this in a relatively short time, precisely because we demonstrated political will on both sides, and we also brought our countries and peoples closer to the maximum. I am sure that the public both in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan are carefully following our achievements and are happy with us.
I would like to express my gratitude for the tribute to the memory of Heydar Alirza Aliyev. During my visit to Tashkent two years ago, together with you, we inaugurated the park and bas-relief named after him. When I visited this place yesterday, I thanked you again in my heart.
Of course, I want to express my admiration for the development of Uzbekistan. I visited both Khiva and Samarkand. I visited Samarkand many years ago. My recent visit once again informs about your wise policy in the field of development of the country. This is reflected in how the appearance of the city changes, in the beautification of the image of the capital and the regions of Uzbekistan. Becoming an important member of the international community, Uzbekistan today has gained a wide reputation not only in its region, but also in the world. Of course, economic development is behind all this. You managed to completely rebuild economic relations in the country and modernize this area, as well as all other areas.
I convey my special congratulations to the athletes of brother Uzbekistan on their historic victory. We rejoiced in their victory as our own. Eight gold medals, first place among Muslim countries and 13th place among all countries – this historic achievement is a manifestation of your great attention to the development of sports.
We will, of course, listen to the members of our delegations as part of today’s meeting. As you mentioned, I would like to emphasize the importance of holding the climate conference. Of course, we look forward to seeing you, and we also work in a two-way format. Because holding the conference is an important event. But in the next year, great work will be done, and we will essentially preside over this process. Of course, there are many climate-related issues in our region and in the Central Asian region, and we are ready to actively cooperate in a bilateral format. In principle, this cooperation has already started.
So, I thank you once again for the invitation and attention, and I take this opportunity to invite you to a state visit to Azerbaijan again next year. But we will meet at the COP conference in November, but next year we are waiting for you with a state visit. Thank you.
***
On August 23, the first meeting of the Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Supreme Interstate Council was held in Tashkent with the participation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
***
The first session of the Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Supreme Interstate Council began in Tashkent with the participation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirzizoyev.
#meeting #Supreme #Interstate #Council #held