Central Asia Monistoring Desk Islamabad
On August 23, the third meeting of the Supreme Interstate Council of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan was held in Tashkent with the participation of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. A short film on friendship, trade, and investment cooperation between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan was screened at the beginning of the meeting.
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev delivered a speech covering the developments in bilateral relations and briefing the priority areas of cooperation.
Dear Ilham Heydarovich, my dear brother, esteemed participants of the meeting, I once again sincerely welcome you and the delegation of brotherly Azerbaijan to Tashkent. Welcome to Uzbekistan.
Your visit is a meeting of spiritually close states bound together by a shared history, cultural affinity, and mutual respect. Today, we are opening the third meeting of the Supreme Interstate Council. The effective functioning of this mechanism is the best demonstration of the highest level of allied relations achieved by our countries.
Before turning to the items on the agenda, dear Ilham Heydarovich, I would like to congratulate you on the successful implementation of the far-sighted and profound course of reforms you are carrying out in Azerbaijan. As brothers and allies, we sincerely rejoice at how dynamically and sustainably Azerbaijan’s economy is developing, as well as at the creation of new sectors and modern infrastructure. All of this leads to a steady rise in the well-being of the Azerbaijani people. The sovereign policy you resolutely pursue serves to strengthen the country’s international standing and advance the agenda of peace and development in the South Caucasus.
We assess the historic meeting of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the United States in Washington last August, along with the signing of the Joint Declaration, as a brilliant victory for your personal diplomacy. I congratulate you once again and wish you continued great success.
We have elevated our bilateral relations to a truly historic peak. As confirmation of this, one can point to the signing of the historic Treaty on Eternal Friendship following the summit.
Most importantly, every provision of our strategic partnership and alliance is reflected in concrete, tangible results. Over the past five years, the volume of mutual trade has increased threefold, while the total portfolio of joint projects has exceeded $5 billion. And this is by no means the limit. In preparation for this visit, meetings of the Intergovernmental Commission, the Business Council, and the Forum of Regions were successfully held, yielding breakthrough initiatives for the implementation of joint projects and programs. Now, the primary task of the governments, ministries, and agencies of both countries is to ensure their effective implementation. Every time we hold a meeting of the Interstate Council, Ilham Heydarovich and I always tell you that we will keep these matters under strict supervision.
The priority areas of our comprehensive cooperation:
First, it is essential to continue close coordination between our foreign affairs agencies to promote our shared interests on regional and international platforms. We also agreed to give a strong impetus to ties between our parliaments, governments, ministries, agencies, and regions.
Second, as I just mentioned, our immediate target is to reach a trade turnover of $1 billion. The basis for this will be the program we adopted today, which outlines concrete measures to achieve this key milestone.
Third, we are paying special attention to deepening industrial cooperation. The business communities of our countries are successfully implementing a range of projects in geology, energy, chemicals, finance, construction, agriculture, and other fields. Within the framework of this meeting, we will launch new projects. To support these initiatives, we must actively draw funds from the joint investment company. Ilham Heydarovich and I agreed that we should swiftly utilize the $500 million in capital and subsequently expand this fund, as we have accumulated valuable joint experience in directing its resources effectively. At today’s meeting, we will hear from the co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Commission about detailed plans for expanding trade and deepening cooperation.
Fourth, serious tasks lie ahead for our transport ministers. As part of developing the Middle Corridor, we must accelerate the commissioning of a joint fleet in the Caspian Sea. Furthermore, we are interested in establishing a dedicated Uzbekistan–Azerbaijan corridor in the Caspian Sea with a single operator.
Fifth, our alliance is rooted in centuries of shared history and the affinity of cultural values between our two brotherly nations. It is our duty to carefully preserve and enhance this rich heritage, as well as to regularly hold reciprocal Days of Culture on an appropriate scale. Moreover, such events should take place not only in the capitals but also across the regions of our countries. Today, we will jointly open the new building of the National Pedagogical University named after Nizami Ganjavi and launch the construction of the “Azerbaijan” Park in New Tashkent.
To bring our peoples even closer, we propose creating joint films and establishing a literary bridge between Nizami Ganjavi and Alisher Navoi. This would be a wonderful opportunity for our peoples to draw closer together and serve as an example for the youth. We ought to create a series of such films.
We support holding the second forum of rectors of the two countries’ leading universities in Azerbaijan this autumn. Next year, our countries will host a major sporting event—the FIFA World Youth Championship. In this regard, we should prepare a large-scale program titled “Two Countries—One Championship,” which will bring together our sports, cultural, and youth events preceding the tournament.
We also propose establishing the Uzbekistan–Azerbaijan Sports Games, where young people can compete not only in sports arenas but also in intellectual disciplines. Ilham Heydarovich, it would be wonderful if we entrusted this task to our teams.
Our countries support regional consolidation and the strengthening of cooperation. It is gratifying that Tashkent and Baku are playing the primary driving roles in interregional integration. Azerbaijan’s accession to the Consultative Meetings format has opened new horizons for expanding economic and humanitarian cooperation between the two regions. Through joint efforts, we are effectively shaping a new geoeconomic reality—a unified, self-sufficient macro-region with powerful potential for joint development.
