Details added, first version posted 27 November 2021 16:28
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 27
Trend:
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov took part in the 25th meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) on November 27, 2021, Trend reports citing the ministry.
The meeting participants supported Azerbaijan’s proposal to create a Clean Energy Center of the ECO Member States and made a decision to establish this center.
Speaking at the event, Bayramov informed about Azerbaijan's ties with the ECO, the implementation and deepening of cooperation, the current situation in the South Caucasus region, the ongoing reconstruction and restoration work in Azerbaijani territories liberated from Armenian occupation [in the 2020 second Karabakh war].
Moreover, he touched upon the initiatives put forward by Azerbaijan during its chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement in the framework of the fight against global challenges, and the work carried out in this direction.
Bayramov noted that Azerbaijan is interested in expanding mutually beneficial cooperation with the ECO. Next year marks the 30th anniversary of Azerbaijan's joining the ranks of the organization. During this period, Azerbaijan has constructively participated in various initiatives to expand economic and trade ties in the region.
“The reforms have been successfully implemented within the ECO, but it must be an ongoing process. It is important to assess the progress achieved in the implementation of the ECO Vision 2025, which will allow us to take appropriate actions to ensure the expected results. Azerbaijan, under the chairmanship of Turkmenistan, welcomes the holding of a number of ministerial meetings, including the spheres of economy, transport, energy, and health, as well as other high-level events to strengthen regional cooperation, highly appreciates the training and assistance provided by the ECO secretariat,” the minister added.
He noted that cooperation in the field of trade, transport, energy are priority areas of ECO activities.
"It is important to include sustainable energy and regional electricity trade in the regional energy agenda. Azerbaijan highly appreciates the support of the ECO member states for the proposal to establish a "Clean Energy Center". The development of transport and communication projects in the ECO region is of great importance. It is known that Azerbaijan has invested heavily in the diversification and modernization of transport infrastructure and has promoted a number of transport infrastructure projects aimed at strengthening trade and logistics between Europe and Asia," he said.
Azerbaijani FM brought to the attention that the 44-day second Karabakh war changed the situation in the region and formed new realities. Azerbaijan has ensured its territorial integrity on the basis of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, the right of about a million Azerbaijani IDPs to live in their native lands has been restored.
“Achieving sustainable peace, development, and progress is the basis for the vision of the future of Azerbaijan. At this stage, it is very important to fully implement the trilateral statements. We expect Armenia to reciprocate the steps taken by Azerbaijan in this direction,” the minister noted.
“In accordance with the trilateral statements of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia, including as stated in the Statement signed by the three leaders on November 26, the restoration of communications, the opening of railways and highways in the region will lead to lasting peace and stability in our region, and will significantly increase the volume of trade and transportation through Armenia and Azerbaijan in the interests of both these countries and our partners. In this sense, the leading initiative is the Zangazur Corridor. It has the potential to improve communications in the East-West Trans-Caspian International Median Corridor,” Bayramov said.
He also stressed that the government of Azerbaijan has begun large-scale work on restoration and reconstruction in the liberated territories.
“General plans for the resettlement of the liberated cities and towns are being prepared. Transport and energy infrastructure projects are being implemented, in particular, the construction of several electric networks, as well as three airports. In eight months, we put into operation the Fuzuli International Airport, and the construction of two other airports continues," he noted.
Stating that ensuring lasting peace in Afghanistan remains an urgent task, the foreign minister said that as a country in the region and in connection with close historical and religious ties with the Afghan people, Azerbaijan is following the situation in Afghanistan with great concern.
“Security and stability in Afghanistan are closely linked to the overall security environment in the region. It is necessary to ensure the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolability of the borders of Afghanistan, as well as create the necessary conditions for political transformations that will ensure the peaceful coexistence of its ethnically diverse population,” he said.
Bayramov also noted Azerbaijan's active participation in global efforts to combat COVID-19.
“We would like to emphasize that a resolution has been adopted related to the global initiatives put forward by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement in response to COVID-19, which received wide international recognition and support, including by organizing a summit of the Contact Group of the Non-Aligned Movement in response to coronavirus, creating a unified database on the basic humanitarian and medical needs of member states in the fight against the pandemic, convening a special session of the UN General Assembly on COVID-19, fair, acceptable, timely and universal access to UN Human Rights Council vaccines and unfair distribution of COVID-19 vaccines by the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly. We believe in the coordinated support of the international community for further initiatives of Azerbaijan for post-pandemic global recovery,” the FM said.
“We thank the Turkmen chairmanship for its contribution to our common work, we wish the next chairman, Uzbekistan, success on this path. We would like to note that at the meeting of the ECO Council of Foreign Ministers, Azerbaijan's proposal to establish a "Clean Energy Center" by the ECO member states was supported, and in this regard, a decision was made," Bayramov added.