BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 2. In January-February, trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Germany nearly tripled, said President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev at a joint press conference with President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Trend reports.
Statement by President Ilham Aliyev
- Dear Mr. President,
Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Mr. President, first of all, I would like to once again sincerely welcome you to Azerbaijan. I am pleased that there is a regular political dialogue between us. Last April, we met during my visit to Berlin, and I am delighted that you have accepted my invitation to come to Azerbaijan on an official visit.
Both during our one-on-one conversation and during the talks with delegations, the further development of German-Azerbaijani relations was discussed. I am absolutely convinced that this visit will give a positive impetus to our relations. The results achieved in the economic sphere are certainly reassuring for us. In January and February of this year, our trade turnover increased nearly threefold. The primary reason for this has been the increase in the volume of crude oil exported from Azerbaijan to Germany. Therefore, we believe that we should take more active steps in the coming years to diversify our trade, especially in the field of renewable energy, where German companies have extensive experience and Azerbaijan has a very large program and ambitious plans. We intend to increase the production of renewable energy to 6 gigawatts by 2030 through foreign investments, and this goal is quite realistic. Part of this volume will be exported to Europe.
As you may be aware, Azerbaijan hosted the COP29 international climate conference last year. We also had active cooperation with Germany in this direction. More than 77,000 participants representing 197 countries were registered at COP29. The conference was rich in successful results. The only country that did not participate was Armenia. This, of course, is regrettable, especially under the current circumstances. At a time when a process of normalization between Azerbaijan and Armenia is successfully underway, it was incomprehensible for the Armenian side to boycott this international conference. Today, this issue was also discussed, and Azerbaijan's position was communicated to the German side.
Azerbaijan’s lands were subjected to Armenian occupation for 30 years. Our people were subjected to ethnic cleansing. One million Azerbaijanis were left homeless due to Armenian aggression, and approximately twenty percent of our land was occupied. Unfortunately, international organizations did not take any tangible steps on this issue. Azerbaijan resolved this conflict itself and restored international law on the battlefield and at the political level. It was this historic victory that paved the way for peace negotiations. I believe that today, the positions of Azerbaijan and Armenia have come quite close to each other in achieving peace.
At the same time, other international issues were also discussed today, including the US-EU tensions, the tensions between Russia and the West. All these issues are naturally affecting the whole world, and it was quite important for me to have such a sincere exchange of views.
I want to say again that I am confident that this visit will have positive results. This is the first official visit of the President of Germany to Azerbaijan in the history of our bilateral relations. I am confident that the outcomes of the visit will bring our countries even closer together.
Welcome once again!