12:30

At the moment, an informal summit meeting of the heads of state of the Organization of Turkic States is taking place in Shusha.

Axar.az reports that President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavket Mirziyayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadir Japarov, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Gasim-Jomart Tokayev, Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban, Vice President of the Republic of Turkiye Covdet Yilmaz, Turkish Northern Cyprus President of the Republic Ersin Tatar, Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States Kubanichbek Omuraliyev are participating in the Summit meeting.

The head of our state made a speech at the event.

Speech of President Ilham Aliyev

- Honorable heads of state and government.

Dear friends.

I greet you all from the bottom of my heart, "Welcome" to Azerbaijan, Karabakh.

Thank you for supporting my initiative to hold an informal summit meeting of the Organization of Turkic States once a year and for accepting our invitation and coming to Shusha.

Expanding relations with Turkic countries, strengthening the Turkic world and the Organization of Turkic States is the priority direction of Azerbaijan's foreign policy. Azerbaijan has always made efforts to unite the Turkic world, increase its political, economic and military power, and become a power center in the global arena.

The Organization of Turkic States should become one of the world's power centers. We cover a large geographical area, positive demographic dynamics are observed in the member countries, our military potential has shown itself many times on the battlefields. Our rich natural resources, modern infrastructure for their transportation, transport corridors connecting Central Asia, the Caucasus with Mediterranean and Black sea ports, our rich and ancient history, culture are our great wealth. The loyalty of our people to traditional values ​​and the fact that they have the same ethnic roots unite our countries. XXI century should be the century of development of the Turkish world.

After Azerbaijan fully restored its territorial integrity and sovereignty on September 20 last year, this Summit held in Shusha has a symbolic meaning.

The city of Shusha, the crown of Karabakh, has always been one of the important centers of the cultural, social and political life of Azerbaijan and the region.

The occupation of Shusha by Armenia in May 1992 was a great tragedy for the Azerbaijani people. The people of Azerbaijan have never come to terms with this occupation, they have always lived with the desire to return to Shusha and our other territories under occupation and have achieved this.

In 2020, during the 44-day Patriotic War, the Azerbaijani Army liberated more than 300 cities and villages from the occupation of Armenia, which lasted for about 30 years, on the battlefield. On November 8, 2020, after the liberation of Shusha from occupation, Armenia was forced to sign the act of capitulation, thus ending the Second Karabakh War. Every year November 8 is celebrated as Victory Day in Azerbaijan.

In 2021, the city of Shusha was declared the "Cultural Capital of Azerbaijan" by my decree. In connection with the 270th anniversary of the foundation of Shusha by Karabakh Khan Panahali Khan, 2022 was declared "Year of Shusha" in Azerbaijan. The city of Shusha was declared the "Cultural Capital of the Turkish World" by TURKSOY for 2023, and the "Cultural Capital of the Islamic World" for 2024 by ISESKO.

The Shusha Declaration, which laid the foundation of the official alliance between Azerbaijan and Turkiye with my brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was signed in Shusha in 2021.

Today, the Karabakh Declaration will be signed in Shusha.

Dear colleagues, today the "Great Return" Program is being implemented in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur. During the occupation of Armenia, all cities and villages in these territories were destroyed. Now life is returning to these lands.

As part of the implementation of the "Great Return" Program, about 8,000 former IDPs have returned to the cities of Lachin, Fuzuli, Shusha, Khojaly and four villages. By the end of this year, 20 thousand people will return to the liberated lands.

The visits of the leaders of the Turkish states to the liberated lands are a manifestation of fraternal solidarity. The President of Turkiye visited Shusha, Fuzuli, Zangilan and Jabrayil, the Presidents of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan visited Shusha and Fuzuli, the President of Kyrgyzstan visited Fuzuli and Aghdam.

Taking this opportunity, I once again express my gratitude to the heads of state and government of the brotherly countries for the school and creative center, which is a symbol of our brotherhood, as well as for the schools to be built.

Dear friends, I think that the current budget and structure of the Organization of Turkic States is not enough for the realization of the goals that we envision together. Therefore, Azerbaijan recently transferred funds in the amount of 2 million US dollars to the account of the Secretariat.

Expansion of the East-West transport corridor is one of the priority issues facing us.

The annual carrying capacity of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which is an integral part of the Middle Corridor, has been increased from 1 million to 5 million tons as a result of additional investment by Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan, which has more than 50 commercial ships in the Caspian Sea, provides important transit services for the Turkic states. Taking into account the increased cargo transportation, 6 ships are currently being built at the Baku Shipyard. Next year, the 9th International Airport of our country will be commissioned in Lachin. The cargo handling capacity of Alat International Trade Port will be expanded from 15 million tons to 25 million tons.

Holding the founding meeting of the Turkish Investment Fund in Istanbul in May of this year is the next successful step that serves to further deepen our economic relations. I believe that joint projects in many fields will be invested through the Fund.

Our strategic partnership in the field of energy, including cooperation in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency, is very important.

The "Digital Silk Road" project, which aims to create a fiber-optic telecommunication route between Europe and Asia through the Caspian Sea, is one of the important initiatives.

As you know, Azerbaijan will host the COP29 conference this year. I take this opportunity to invite each of you once again to COP29. Chairing the COP29 and holding this event in Baku is a clear example of the great trust that the international community has in our country. Almost 200 countries unanimously supported our candidacy. Using the experience gained during the 4-year chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement, Azerbaijan will spare no effort to strengthen solidarity and reach consensus between developed and developing countries.

I am sure that the Karabakh Declaration, which we will sign today, and the decisions we make, will further strengthen the solidarity of the Turkic world and, at the same time, the international reputation of the Organization of Turkic States.