The conducted negotiations, both one-on-one and in an expanded format, clearly demonstrate that our countries are good friends. Today, we have thoroughly analyzed the development of our relations over the past years and noted with satisfaction the dynamic progress of these relations. More importantly, we have identified ways for further interaction. This was stated by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a press statement with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
According to the head of state, “We agreed that by the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission, which will take place soon in Minsk, the directives given to the relevant state structures will be thoroughly analyzed. Specific steps will be identified with deadlines for the implementation of these directives, as well as the responsible persons and structures for their execution, in order to further enhance the potential for mutual trade and economic cooperation.”
President Aliyev noted that he “sent a letter, but today I also personally invited Alexander Grigoryevich to attend the climate summit, which will be held in Baku in November.”
“Everything we discussed today is quite specific. It primarily concerns industrial cooperation, the establishment of joint productions in Belarus and Azerbaijan, and the enhancement of the potential of those joint productions created many years ago. This mainly includes mechanical engineering, and we also discussed in detail the development of relations in the defense industry, agriculture, and transport. In other words, these are issues that will have practical significance for the development of our countries’ economies.”
President Aliyev is confident that “in the not-too-distant future, we will see new milestones in our relations, new enterprises, new jobs, and new areas of cooperation.”
“I have already mentioned this, and I want to say it again: I invited Belarusian companies to actively participate in the restoration of the Karabakh and East Zangezur regions. The scale of the work we are carrying out and will carry out is grand. Essentially, we have to restore the territory from scratch, which, for comparison, is 50 percent larger than a country like Lebanon. This illustrates what we have to do, where there is not a stone left unturned. Everything was destroyed during the years of occupation, and we have to restore everything from scratch—infrastructure, housing, public buildings, historical monuments, and so on. Therefore, we invite Belarusian companies to actively join this work,” said the head of the Azerbaijani state.
President Aliyev pointed out that Belarus “has very good experience in urban planning, modern technologies, and the construction of agro-towns. Our primary task, of course, is to return former refugees to their homes as quickly as possible, which will be built, and also to provide them with appropriate jobs so that the people returning to the liberated territories are also employed in well-paid jobs.”
The head of state also informed the President of Belarus about the “post-conflict situation in the South Caucasus region. And, naturally, we exchanged views on current global political issues. The situation in the world is changing quite rapidly and, as a rule, in a negative direction. New conflicts and new hotspots of instability are emerging. Unfortunately, existing conflicts, as a rule, are not being resolved. Except for the conflict in the South Caucasus, which was resolved by Azerbaijan through military-political means in full accordance with international law, UN Security Council resolutions, the UN Charter, and international humanitarian law, as recognized today by the entire world community.”
Ilham Aliyev also noted that “over the years, in various situations, we have always maintained our commitment to our values—goodness, dignity, honesty in relationships, and a focus on results. I believe that the trustful relations between the leaders of our countries naturally give impetus to all other government officials, encouraging them to communicate, work, and be friends for the benefit of their countries and the strengthening of friendly relations between our countries. And the fact that these relations are friendly is clearly demonstrated by today’s events.”
