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An expanded meeting of the First Interstate Council of Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan format took place with the participation of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov in Bishkek on October 11.

Making a speech at the meeting, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said:

-Dear Ilham Heydar oglu,

Dear members of the delegation.

A very warm welcome, dear Ilham Heydar oglu, to the delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan you are heading in the Kyrgyz Republic. Let me express my deep gratitude to you for accepting our invitation and for paying a state visit to our country.

We attach particular importance to your visit as a logical continuation of the strategic partnership between Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan. We are facing the task of defining strategic goals and an algorithm of actions, as well as the parameters of the directions, content and nature of our relations in the future. We are ready to maintain interstate relations at a high level, to step up all contacts on existing and future cooperation mechanisms. There has been a meeting in a narrow format. In the meeting in a narrow format, we already discussed a number of highly important issues of our cooperation, noted its main directions and priorities, and we will continue discussions within the framework of the Interstate Council meeting.

Speaking about trade and investment cooperation, I want to note with satisfaction that we have reviewed the important role of the Kyrgyz-Azerbaijani Development Fund, which should become a catalyst for accelerating and an effective mechanism for attracting Azerbaijani investments to Kyrgyzstan and implementing mutually beneficial business projects.

It is gratifying that we have an understanding of the need to increase trade between our countries. Its current level is still far from its potential. We welcome the business community of the Republic of Azerbaijan in our market and are open to further partnerships. We guarantee the protection of investors and are ready to provide the most favorable conditions.

Dear Ilham Heydar oglu. Regarding the deepening of cultural and humanitarian cooperation between our countries, I would like to note the following. I am very glad that we have a common history, roots, culture, traditions and national features. From time immemorial, our ancestors bequeathed to us friendship and cooperation. We attach great importance to the development of relations in the field of culture, education, science, tourism and sports. In this context, I would like to state with special satisfaction the importance of implementing landmark projects that contribute to the deepening of mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation between our countries and peoples, such as the joint opening of two general education schools named after Heydar Aliyev Aliyev and Nizami Ganjavi in the capital of our Motherland, the city of Bishkek, which will take place tomorrow. I am glad that our youth, the future of Kyrgyzstan, will receive education in these excellent schools. I am sure that our boys and girls will become a bridge of friendship and cooperation between fraternal Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan.

I am also pleased to note that we will take part in the opening of the Friendship Park of Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan, the construction of which was completed the day before with the help of our Azerbaijani friends. I do hope that this wonderful park will become a favorite spot for the recreation of our citizens.

I remember quoting our great compatriot and writer Chingiz Aitmatov in our meeting in Baku. As we all know, he is also close to our Azerbaijani friends. He said that the leading theme of the Kyrgyz spiritual heritage, coming from the depths of centuries, which is the epic “Manas”, is unity. We deeply appreciate unity, honor and justice. It is gratifying that the same qualities are also inherent in our Azerbaijani brothers.

In the Kyrgyz and Azerbaijani languages, the word “namyz” has the same meaning and is translated as ‘honor”, ‘conscience”, and reflects different shades of speech.

I would like to quote the words of the great son of the Azerbaijani people and national leader of the country, respected Heydar Alirza oglu, who, upon his arrival in Kyrgyzstan on a visit for the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the “Manas” epic back in 1995, noted that we feel and understand each other with our hearts.

For our part, we also want to emphasize that we are ready for fruitful work with our Azerbaijani brothers in all areas of cooperation.

Thank you for your attention, dear Ilham Heydar oglu. Once again, I am glad to welcome you. You have the floor. Please.

***

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.

***

President Sadyr Japarov: Dear Ilham Heydar oglu, thank you very much for your kind words.

***

The event participants then made speeches on the current state of and prospects for bilateral cooperation.

***

The heads of state then made speeches.

President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov said:

Distinguished members of the delegation, thank you for your speeches.

Dear Ilham Heydar oglu, dear members of the delegation. The Kyrgyz Republic attaches great importance to the development of interstate relations between our countries and considers Azerbaijan as a reliable friend and partner.

I want to note with deep satisfaction that the Kyrgyz-Azerbaijani cooperation is developing dynamically. There are no political contradictions between our countries. We intend to strengthen political dialogue, establish and develop closer economic ties, including the joint implementation of large investment projects, active interaction on international platforms, as well as further building up of cultural and humanitarian cooperation.

I am sure that through joint effort we will ensure further building up of constructive cooperation within the framework of international organizations and regional associations.

There is no doubt that the friendly ties and fraternal relations between our countries, which are based on centuries of history, common traditions, language and cultural and spiritual heritage, have all the prerequisites for further development and deepening.

I am convinced that the documents signed today will further expand and strengthen cooperation between our countries. Thank you for your attention.

***

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said:

Dear Sadyr Nurgozhoyevich, dear members of the delegation.

In this composition today, we listened to the comments by members of delegations on important areas of our cooperation. This once again confirms that both sides are focused on a specific result. I think that the information that was provided on cooperation in the economic sphere, the transport sphere, the cultural and humanitarian sphere and investment projects will have a concrete result, because there is a common opinion on bringing our countries and peoples closer together in all these areas.

We have already determined the cultural agenda for the next year and beyond. The holding of the Days of Culture of Kyrgyzstan in Azerbaijan and of Azerbaijan in Kyrgyzstan will allow our viewers and listeners to get acquainted with the rich culture of our countries and enable even closer contacts at various levels.

Today, during the meeting in a limited format, we also spoke about issues related to education. I think that it is also necessary to define a specific program for the training of our students in the leading universities of our countries and establishing contacts between the younger generation, because in the future they should, like us, be attached to their roots, traditions and sentiments between our countries.

I would like to emphasize the importance of cooperation in the transport and transit sector at the current stage. As noted, the new transport routes that already exist and are being planned on will allow us the opportunity to bring our communications even closer together, as they say. First of all, we are talking about the railway, and we support the decision to build the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway with access to the Caspian Sea. On our side of the Caspian up until European consumers, there is already an extensive transport infrastructure – rail, road, air, and also taking into account the potential of our cargo air transport. Today, having no access to the world ocean, Azerbaijan has already created an important transport network. Of course, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway will be part of the Middle Corridor. The fact that this is happening now is also understandable, of course. But the main thing is that all projects that are being implemented in your region and in the region of the western Caspian should be synchronized so that we can plan both to increase and expand our port capabilities. It has already been said that we are planning – in fact, much earlier than we planned before – to expand the potential of the Alat Trade Port – from 15 to 25 million tons. In principle, such plans were there from the very beginning, but we were looking at that as something distant, as a distant future. But today, on some days, there are even traffic jams in the port because the amount of cargo is growing rapidly. The figure has already been announced here – 60 percent growth in nine months is a significant indicator in the transportation of goods.

The North-South corridor also passes through Azerbaijan, which also has a very great potential. At certain junction points in Azerbaijan, these two corridors naturally intersect, creating opportunities to expand the potential of both the South-West and North-West corridors. Therefore, I think that within the framework of the intergovernmental commission and perhaps within the framework of perhaps more frequent consultations on the transport sector, it is worth creating, at some stage, a special working group that would be in constant contact. Because the issues related to information about ongoing projects and their synchronization are highly important. We must be ready to expand our transport potential when infrastructure projects are ready in your region so that investments are timely and, as they say, more efficient.

Therefore, I think that there is a very serious potential in this and indeed in all other directions. We went over a broad agenda today. I am sure that everything we have planned on will be carried out. We as presidents will exercise control over the implementation of decisions. The Interstate Council will meet on a regular basis. Therefore, I call on all members of the delegation to work hard and focus on results. Thank you.

President Sadyr Japarov: Thank you, Ilham Heydar oglu. I do hope that the proposals and thoughts you have mentioned will soon be implemented.

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