BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 11. Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan are actively contributing to the strengthening of fraternal relations between Turkic speaking states, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said during an expanded meeting of the First Interstate Council of Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan, Trend reports.
An expanded meeting of the First Interstate Council of Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan has been held with the participation of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov in Bishkek.
President Ilham Aliyev said:
-Dear Sadyr Nurgozhoyevich, thank you for the kind words. I fully share your assessment of both the fraternal nature of relations between our peoples and the current state of Kyrgyz-Azerbaijani ties. I would like to thank you again for the invitation to pay a state visit to fraternal Kyrgyzstan. I am very pleased to be making this visit today. I have visited the fraternal Kyrgyz land twice before, but those were visits related to my participation in international events. This is my first official state visit to Kyrgyzstan, and it takes place literally six months after your official visit, which is a demonstration of the fact that we are determined to intensify our relations.
For my part, I would also like to note the common historical and cultural roots that bring our peoples together and form a solid foundation for interstate relations. Today I visited the Memorial to the Fallen, as well as the grave of the great son of the Kyrgyz people, Chingiz Aitmatov. I had the pleasure of meeting him in Baku and recall those meetings with warmth. He is rightfully the source of pride not only for the Kyrgyz people, but of the entire Turkic world.
Today, the Turkic world is gaining new potential, and both Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan are actively contributing to the strengthening of fraternal relations between Turkic speaking states. The summit to be held next month, I think, will be another step towards strengthening our unity. We must be closer to our roots, we must rely on our traditions, on the covenants of our ancestors, and preserve and protect the unique culture of our peoples in order to always follow the path of independence and national dignity.
For six months now, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan have officially been strategic partners. The Declaration was signed in Baku during your visit, and today, at a meeting in a limited format, we exchanged views on how it is being implemented successfully. We will fill it with even more specific content. I think that the decision to create a joint investment fund is one of such factors.
We have already said that we are waiting for specific proposals on the activities of the fund, on the directions of its capital investments, so that we could quickly contribute to the increase in trade without wasting time. I agree with your assessment, and I got acquainted with the materials of bilateral relations on the eve of the visit and, of course, I saw that the turnover between our countries is purely symbolic, so to speak, but there are good opportunities. The reforms that are being carried out in Kyrgyzstan, I am sure, will contribute to rapid economic growth and the creation of new opportunities for business and for foreign investors.
As for Azerbaijan, we have been an investor in friendly
countries for many years, and our investments have always served
the cause of strengthening cooperation with the countries where we
invest and mutual interests – they create jobs and new
opportunities for business development. So I think the creation of
a joint fund is one of the important results of my visit. Of
course, for the first time we are holding an Interstate Council. We
are essentially structuring our relations under the auspices of the
Interstate Council in order to give more dynamism and have more
opportunities to control decision-making, including those within
the framework of trade and economic activities. As we have already
noted, the meeting of the intergovernmental commission was held in
Baku relatively recently and will be held in Bishkek next year. The
Interstate Council and the Intergovernmental Commission are the
mechanisms that will constantly allow us, as they say, to keep our
finger on the pulse and see what we must do to reach the goals that
we have set ourselves.
The relations between our peoples actually have a long history. You
mentioned the cooperation in the humanitarian sphere in your
speech. We are very grateful for such respect for the memory of the
founder of the Azerbaijani state, Heydar Aliyev. One of the big
schools in Bishkek is named after him. Also, another school has now
been named after Nizami Ganjavi, the great Azerbaijani poet and
thinker. We regard this as a sign of respect for our people and
highly appreciate it.
I share your assessment that the Kyrgyzstan-Azerbaijan Friendship Park will be a place of recreation and one of the new projects that will decorate the developing face of the Kyrgyz capital.
Once again, thank you for the invitation and hospitality, and I express great respect for the fraternal Kyrgyz people on behalf of the Azerbaijani people. Thank you.