ASTANA, Kazakhstan, October 21. Active cooperation between Baku and Astana carries significant geopolitical importance, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said during a joint press statement with President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Trend reports.
Statement by President Ilham Aliyev
- Dear Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich,
Dear friends,
First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to the President of Kazakhstan for the warm welcome, hospitality, and invitation to visit brotherly Kazakhstan. I visit Kazakhstan quite regularly and have witnessed firsthand the positive transformations and development that Kazakhstan is experiencing under the wise leadership of President Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich Tokayev. The reforms implemented by the President in recent years, the course toward modernization, and the development of modern technologies, including artificial intelligence, testify to the fact that Kazakhstan is confidently moving along the path of development and modernization.
Kazakhstan's international authority is strengthening as well. Today, Kazakhstan is perceived worldwide as a reliable partner, as a country pursuing its own course, implementing its policies within the framework of its national interests, and as a good friend.
As for Azerbaijan, we have always felt this. We have always experienced your fraternal support during the most difficult times for our people and our country. During the years of occupation, Kazakhstan always supported us at all international forums and within the framework of all of Azerbaijan’s international initiatives, voted in solidarity with us, and contributed to the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict on the basis of the principles of international law and justice.
I am very grateful to Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich, first of all, for his kind words about me and our country, and also for his support of the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. After the initialing of the peace agreement on 8 August at the White House in Washington, with the participation and active support of US President Donald Trump for this process, Kazakhstan was one of the first countries to express its position on this issue. I had a telephone conversation with Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich, informed him of all the details of the agreements reached, and once again witnessed his fraternal attitude towards Azerbaijan. Today, at the meeting of the Interstate Council, we also discussed this, among other things, and the positive impact these agreements will have on the South Caucasus and the wider region, including the development of the transport and logistics sector.
I should also note that Azerbaijan has lifted all restrictions on cargo transit to Armenia that had existed since the time of occupation. The first such transit cargo was a shipment of Kazakh grain to Armenia. I do believe that this is also a good indicator that peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia is no longer just on paper but is already a matter of practice.
Our peoples are bound by centuries-old friendship and brotherhood, which are based on shared roots and spiritual and cultural affinities. This is a solid foundation for building our interstate relations. If we review the dynamics of mutual visits – there have been more than ten of them over the past three years – it is clear how extensive our relations are. Every meeting and every discussion is aimed at achieving concrete results. Today, we heard reports from various ministers, as well as plans for the future, and, of course, gave our additional instructions on how to step up further interactions. What we heard is rather gratifying because everything that was planned is being implemented. Where there are issues that require the attention and participation of heads of state, these issues are under our constant monitoring, of course.
The second meeting of the Supreme Interstate Council, which literally followed the meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission, as well as the results achieved by the Intergovernmental Commission and the Interstate Council, all benefit our countries, our peoples, and indeed our neighbors. The active interaction between our countries today also has very significant geopolitical significance. At a time when new transport routes are opening, when projects related to connectivity are being implemented across the broader Eurasian region, when the South Caucasus and Central Asia are becoming more interconnected and often operate within a single geographic space, all this requires permanent attention and, of course, the participation of heads of state to translate this interaction into concrete results.
Our countries traditionally support each other within the framework of international organizations, including the UN and others. Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich recently visited us to participate in the Summit of Turkic States. Such active interaction at international venues further demonstrates the closeness between us.
Next year, Azerbaijan will be hosting two important international events – and, of course, Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich, I am sure, will be among our honored guests – the Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, an organization that emerged as a result of Kazakhstan's initiative. We act practically as a single entity at all international forums. Today's negotiations, the exchange of views, and decisions are further evidence of this.
Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich extensively talked about the issues of trade and economic cooperation, cooperation in transport and logistics, energy, and humanitarian cooperation. I would like to add that all the people of Azerbaijan, including those currently living in liberated Garabagh, always gratefully acknowledge the role of President Tokayev and the fraternal people of Kazakhstan in the revival of Garabagh. The Kurmangazy Children’s Creativity Center, which President Tokayev and I inaugurated in Fuzuli, is a center not only for children's education and development, but also a symbol of our brotherhood and friendship. Anyone visiting the Garabagh region, whether by car or by air – mostly using Fuzuli as a gateway to other regions – passes by the Kurmangazy Center, and every citizen of Azerbaijan and guest of our country can see this fraternal support. This support is exceptionally important for us as we are successfully implementing the large-scale Great Return project, in part thanks to the fraternal support of Kazakhstan.
Today, we also watched a presentation about our achievements in implementing the Middle Corridor project, as well as future plans. I would like to add that, in addition to the planning and implementation underway, the Zangezur Corridor project also offers enormous potential. In Azerbaijan, all road and railway connections will be completed by mid-next year. We do hope that progress in other countries will be just as rapid, and in that case, the opening of the Zangezur Corridor could take place by the end of 2028.
As you may know, one of the achievements of the Washington summit in August was the TRIPP (The Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity) project. President Trump has lent his name to this project, which, of course, suggests that it will definitely be implemented. This opens yet another route along the Middle Corridor. In addition to the traditional route, another one has been added – through Zangezur, with a turnover of 15 million tons and meeting the latest standards. So the volume of cargo from Asia to Europe and back through our countries has potential for growth in itself, and there will also be even greater potential for receiving and shipping this cargo.
Regarding the other issues we discussed today, Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich has covered everything in detail, so I have nothing further to add.
I would simply like to once again express my gratitude for the fraternal attitude and warm welcome, and invite President Tokayev to pay a state visit to Azerbaijan at any convenient time next year.
Thank you.