11:10

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has gone to the Presidential Administration to attend the 11th Summit of the Heads of State of the Turkic Council in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

Axar.az reports that the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Japarov, welcomed the head of state.

President Ilham Aliyev delivered a speech at the meeting.

Speech by President Ilham Aliyev:

Dear Sadyr Nurgojoyevich,
Dear heads of state and government,

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Nurgojoyevich Japarov, for the warm hospitality and the high-level organization of the event.

This is my third visit to the Kyrgyz Republic in the last two years. During each visit, I witness the country’s progress under the leadership of Sadyr Nurgojoyevich. I congratulate the brotherly Kyrgyzstan for all the achievements made.

I also congratulate Kazakhstan for its successful presidency in the Turkic Council.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Nakhchivan Agreement, which laid the foundation for the Turkic States Organization. Over this period, our organization has followed a successful development path. The Shusha Declaration, signed at the informal summit of heads of state in July, further contributes to deepening cooperation.

Azerbaijan will continue its efforts to strengthen the Turkic States Organization.

The current budget of the Turkic States Organization is not sufficient to achieve the goals we have set. I hope that Azerbaijan's financial support of 2 million USD to the Secretariat of the Turkic States Organization and 100 thousand USD to the Council of Elders will contribute to strengthening the organization’s potential.

Given the increasing threats in the world, our cooperation in defense, security, and the defense industry is of great importance. In recent times, cooperation between law enforcement and security agencies has expanded.

Military drills are being conducted with the participation of our countries' armed forces. The presence of students from brotherly countries in our military educational institutions is a sign of mutual trust and friendship.

Recently, the volume of transit cargo through Azerbaijan along the East-West transport corridor has increased. Azerbaijan is increasing its investments to enhance the capacity of this corridor, which connects Central Asian countries to Turkey through Azerbaijan.

Compared to the same period in 2023, the volume of transit shipments with member and observer states has increased by nearly 15% in the January-September period of 2024.

Several projects are currently being implemented to digitalize the Middle Corridor and facilitate trade. These projects will impact logistics efficiency and reduce costs.

In September of last year, Azerbaijan fully restored its sovereignty. During the 30 years of occupation by Armenia, nine of our cities and hundreds of villages were completely destroyed. In the liberated territories, large-scale reconstruction and restoration projects are being carried out, and at the same time, under the Great Return Program, displaced persons are returning to their homeland.

I would like to take this opportunity to once again express my gratitude to the heads of state and government of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Hungary for their gifts of schools and creative centers, as well as the schools to be built in the liberated areas.

Azerbaijan will host the COP29 climate conference in the coming days. In December of last year, nearly 200 countries unanimously supported Azerbaijan’s candidacy. This is a clear manifestation of the great respect and support Azerbaijan has received from the international community.

I am confident that the member countries of the Turkic States Organization will actively participate in the COP29 conference.

Thank you for your attention.