19:31

On September 25, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met with Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres at the UN headquarters.

Axar.az reports that first, the head of state signed the UN book of honorary guests.

Then, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres took a joint photo.

The Secretary-General congratulated the head of state on the advancement of the peace agenda between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the historic results achieved.

Recalling his visit to Azerbaijan as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres said that he had become acquainted with the difficult situation of refugees and internally displaced persons in our country at that time. He joyfully emphasized that all these issues are now a thing of the past and noted that the Azerbaijani government has implemented large-scale projects related to the return of internally displaced persons to their homeland.

The UN Secretary-General also congratulated the Head of State on the successful holding of COP29 in Azerbaijan and the achievements made in terms of advancing the international climate agenda, and expressed his gratitude for the high level of holding of this event.

Antonio Guterres expressed his satisfaction with the development of cooperation between the UN and Azerbaijan, expressed his gratitude for the fact that our country currently supports the activities of this organization in other regions, and noted that there are great prospects for cooperation between Azerbaijan and the UN in overcoming international crises.

Touching upon Azerbaijan's active role in multilateral diplomacy, the UN Secretary-General also emphasized our country's successful chairmanship in the Non-Aligned Movement, and stated that the support provided by Azerbaijan to the activities of various UN institutions, as a donor country, was highly appreciated.

The UN Secretary-General noted our country's role in the development of regional cooperation projects, as well as in the establishment of regional transport links with Central Asia.

The Head of State expressed his gratitude for the congratulations.

President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the results achieved in the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the peace agenda are of historical importance. The Head of State, who said that the relations between the two countries and the situation in the region have completely changed, said that there has been no peace in the region since Azerbaijan and Armenia gained their independence. Currently, there is peace in the region. Stressing that both countries are accustomed to living in peace, President Ilham Aliyev drew attention to the fact that this is of great historical importance for both Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The Head of State, in turn, noted the large-scale restoration and construction work carried out in our liberated territories. In this regard, President Ilham Aliyev noted that more than 53 thousand former internally displaced persons have returned to their native lands, and that Azerbaijan is implementing large-scale restoration and construction work in accordance with the "Great Return" Program.

The Head of State noted that Azerbaijan, as a donor, has assisted in more than 80 countries during COVID-19 and said that it will continue to contribute to this work by supporting the regional and international peace agenda.

Touching upon the hosting of a major event such as the UN World Urban Forum in our country in 2026, President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that this event creates a good opportunity for Azerbaijan to share its rich experience in urban planning, especially in post-conflict urban planning, with the international community.