Azernews.Az

On November 6, the 11th Summit of Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States was held in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Azernews reports.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev arrived at the Presidential Administration to participate in the event.

President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Zhaparov welcomed President Ilham Aliyev, along with other heads of state and government.

A group photo was taken.

Then, a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States took place.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev addressed the meeting.

Speech by President Ilham Aliyev

- Dear Sadyr Nurgojoyevich,

Dear heads of state and government,

First of all, I would like to thank the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Nurgojoyevich Zhaparov, for his hospitality and the high-level organization of the event.

This is my third visit to the Kyrgyz Republic in the last two years. Each time I come here, I witness the development of the country under the leadership of Sadyr Nurgojoyevich. I congratulate brotherly Kyrgyzstan on all the successes achieved.

I would also like to congratulate Kazakhstan on its successful chairmanship of the Organization of Turkic States.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Nakhchivan Agreement, which laid the foundation for the Organization of Turkic States. Our organization has followed a successful path of development during this period. The Garabagh Declaration, signed at the Informal Summit of Heads of State in Shusha in July, contributes to further deepening cooperation.

Azerbaijan will continue its efforts to strengthen the Organization of Turkic States.

The current budget of the Organization of Turkic States is insufficient to achieve our goals. I do hope that Azerbaijan’s financial support of $2 million for the Secretariat of the Organization of Turkic States and $100,000 for the Council of Elders will contribute to further strengthening the organization’s capacity.

Given the growing global threats, our cooperation in defense, security, and the defense industry is of tremendous importance. Cooperation among our law enforcement and security agencies has expanded in recent times.

Military exercises are held with the participation of the armed forces of our countries. The education of cadets from brotherly countries at our military educational institutions is a sign of mutual trust and friendship.

Recently, transportation through Azerbaijani territory via the East-West transport corridor has increased even more. Azerbaijan is increasing investments to raise the transmission capacity of this corridor, which connects Central Asian countries and Türkiye through Azerbaijan.

From January to September 2024, transit shipments with member and observer states increased by about 15 percent compared to the same period in 2023.

Several projects aimed at digitalizing the Middle Corridor and simplifying trade are currently in progress. These projects will increase logistical efficiency and reduce costs.

In September last year, Azerbaijan fully restored its sovereignty. During the 30-year period of occupation, Armenia completely destroyed nine of our cities and hundreds of villages in these territories. Large-scale reconstruction and rehabilitation projects are now taking place in the liberated areas, and former IDPs are returning to their homeland as part of the Great Return Program.

I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank the heads of state and government of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Hungary for their gifts of fraternity, including the school and the creativity center, as well as for the schools to be built in the liberated territories.

Azerbaijan will soon be hosting the COP29 climate conference. Last December, nearly 200 countries unanimously supported Azerbaijan's candidacy. This is a manifestation of the great respect and support that the international community has for our country.

I am sure that the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States will actively participate in the COP29 conference.

Thank you for your attention.

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The event included the signing of documents.