The international forum themed “Facing the New World Order” opened today at ADA University in Baku, bringing together leading global experts, policymakers, academics, and diplomats to discuss pressing geopolitical and economic challenges. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev delivered a keynote address at the opening session.
“This is the seventh time a large group of international experts from different countries is visiting Azerbaijan to address important issues of the global agenda,” the head of state said. “At the same time, all these visits help to know Azerbaijan better, to feel the pulse of the country.”
President Aliyev emphasized that regular visits by international experts to the liberated territories of Azerbaijan following the country’s victory in the 2020 war provide a deeper understanding of the region’s history and its current realities:
“The regular visits of international experts to the liberated territories give more information about the history of our country, the history of the conflict, and, of course, today’s reality of Azerbaijan.”
Addressing regional dynamics, President Aliyev underlined that Armenia’s long-standing occupation policy deprived it of the opportunity to benefit from key regional cooperation frameworks:
“All transit—whether it’s oil, gas, or cargo—from Azerbaijan goes through Georgia. Armenia could have been part of that process. It’s their fault that they miscalculated the future development and sacrificed their economic future, their real independence, to this dream of great Armenia.”
He added that the occupation hindered the integration of the South Caucasus:
“Unfortunately, the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijan’s territory did not allow the South Caucasus to develop as a more or less integrated region. We had all chances for that, but aggression, devastation, and the suffering of the Azerbaijani people did not allow that to happen.”
The President highlighted the strategic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Georgia as a successful model of regional partnership, involving energy security, transport, political dialogue, and economic benefits—opportunities Armenia missed out on due to its policies.
President Aliyev also pointed out Azerbaijan’s emerging role as a vital bridge between Central Asia and Europe:
“With many countries, Azerbaijan signed or adopted declarations on strategic partnership. So, this already established platform allows us to play an important role as a geographical, political, economic, and transportation bridge between the region of Central Asia and Europe.”
He noted that while Azerbaijan’s geographic position makes it indispensable, some actors in Europe still attempt to isolate the country from regional developments:
“It’s only enough to look at the map to understand that Azerbaijan cannot be avoided. Though, there are some in Europe who would prefer to separate Azerbaijan not only from this process but also to build dividing lines in the Caucasus, particularly in the South Caucasus. These attempts will definitely not succeed.”
Touching upon the peace process with Armenia, President Aliyev reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s readiness for cooperation and urged rapid progress:
“If an agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia is signed, then, of course, there will be no obstacle to the beginning of cooperation,” he said. “I think that we should not lose time, because, with respect to the peace agreement, the ball is on the Armenian side.”
The “Facing the New World Order” forum aims to foster dialogue on new global realities, regional integration, and multilateral cooperation in a rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape.
