Photo: AFP/Anadolu/Handout/Presidency of Uzbekistan
Eurasia
23/08/2024 12:00
Azerbaijan is a strategic partner of our country in the South Caucasus and a fraternal country with which Uzbekistan has always had close ties and maintained friendly relations in both ancient and modern history.
The active dialogue at various levels between our countries testifies to the special place of Azerbaijan among Uzbekistan's international partners.
In 2022, the President of Azerbaijan visited Uzbekistan three times - in June on a state visit, in September - to participate as an honorary guest in the summit of the heads of state of the SCO member states, and in November - to participate in the summit of the heads of state of the UTC member states.
In turn, the head of our state visited Azerbaijan three times in 2023: in March to participate in the summit of the Contact Group of the Non-Aligned Movement, in August on a state visit and in November to participate in the first summit of the UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA). On July 5-6, 2024, the President of Uzbekistan took part in the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States in the Azerbaijani city of Shusha.
A regular exchange of visits has brought bilateral relations to a qualitatively new level. As a result, dozens of documents were signed, including the Declaration on Deepening Strategic Partnership and Building Up Comprehensive Cooperation, the Agreement on the Establishment of the Supreme Interstate Council.
The signing of these documents demonstrated the coincidence of interests and goals of Tashkent and Baku and their interest in creating favorable conditions for the further expansion of equal and multifaceted cooperation. The intensification of high-level dialogue has contributed to the intensification of mutual high-level visits, the development of inter-parliamentary cooperation, and the strengthening of interaction within international organizations and multilateral formats.
Thus, both states provide active mutual support at such authoritative venues as the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Turkic States, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the Economic Cooperation Organization. Our country highly appreciates the fact that in recent years alone, Azerbaijan has become one of the co-authors of several resolutions adopted at the initiative of Uzbekistan within the UN General Assembly.
It is also necessary to especially emphasize the role of inter-parliamentary friendship groups operating in the legislative bodies of both states, whose activities contribute to the expansion of practical and productive contacts between parliamentarians.
Cooperation at the interdepartmental level is developing no less actively. Political consultations are regularly held between the ministries of foreign affairs of the two countries, a close dialogue is conducted at the level of transport administrations, trade and economic ties and industrial cooperation are being strengthened. Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, with their enormous potential and key geostrategic location in their regions, have undoubtedly become economically promising partners for each other today, which confirms the growing mutual interest in expanding ties. It is enough to look at the dynamics of bilateral trade to understand the pace of development. Thus, since 2017, the volume of mutual trade has grown more than 5.5 times, and since the beginning of this year, it has increased by another 15%. Of course, these indicators do not fully meet the existing capabilities, but the dynamics of their growth show that Tashkent and Baku are seriously determined to achieve the goal of bringing the volume of mutual trade to 1 billion US dollars in the coming years. To strengthen economic cooperation, the Uzbek-Azerbaijani Business Council was established in 2020. To date, four of its meetings have been held. This platform allows us to identify new points of intersection of mutual interests and promotes the strengthening of mutually beneficial investment, trade and economic cooperation. In 2023, the Joint Uzbek-Azerbaijani Investment Company was established to finance the most promising projects in the two countries.
240 enterprises with the participation of Azerbaijani capital, operating in such areas as trade, mechanical engineering and metalworking, finance and insurance, real estate transactions, energy, services, jewelry production, food industry, light industry and others, contribute to the economic development of Uzbekistan.
Both countries pay special attention to the development of cooperation in the transport sector. This is due to common aspirations to convert a strategic location at the junction of historical international trade routes into long-term economic benefits. At the same time, the implementation of joint projects to create a reliable logistics infrastructure and develop transit corridors is a strategic components of interaction. Our countries consider this task as an important factor in the growth of their economies.
Thus, today Uzbekistan is actively using the capabilities of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which ensures the entry of Uzbek goods into the world market. The Azerbaijani side supports the construction of the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China railway, the implementation of which will open up new prospects for a significant expansion of cooperation ties.
Direct flights from Baku to Tashkent, Samarkand, Urgench and Fergana also contribute to the development of bilateral contacts.
Since 2019, cooperation between the regions of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan has intensified, and mutual exchanges of delegation visits are regularly carried out.
In February 2023, the first Forum of Regions of the Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan format was held in Tashkent, and the second - in May of this year in the Azerbaijani city of Guba. As a result, documents on cooperation were signed between the cities of Samarkand and Ganja, Khiva and Shusha, Bukhara and Lankaran, Kokand and Sheki, Namangan and Mingechevir, Gulistan and Fizuli, Termez and Bilasuvar. Both sides expressed interest in further strengthening interregional ties and expanding the geography of cooperation between the cities.
At the present stage, the historical community of religion, language, culture and traditions plays a key role in the development of cultural and humanitarian cooperation between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.
The legacy of prominent Uzbek and Azerbaijani classics - Alisher Navoi, Mirzo Ulugbek, Nizami Ganjavi, Nasireddin Tusi and Muhammad Fizuli are the property of not only the Turkic-speaking peoples, but also of all humanity. Their work is highly revered by the peoples of our countries.
A monument to Alisher Navoi was erected in Baku, and to Nizami Ganjavi and Heydar Aliyev in Tashkent. The State Pedagogical University of Uzbekistan is named after Nizami Ganjavi, and in Azerbaijan there is a village named after Alisher Navoi.
Another sign of the strong friendship between the Uzbek and Azerbaijani peoples was the construction in 2023 in the city of Fizuli, on the initiative of the head of our country, of a modern school named after Mirzo Ulugbek, designed for 960 students.
Thanks to the educational initiatives of the heads of the two states Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Ilham Aliyev, the possibilities of humanitarian cooperation are deepening, the two countries are developing more and more new joint projects, and delegations are exchanged on a regular basis.
The Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan participated as an honorary guest in the International Maqom Art Forum in June 2024 in the city of Zaamin, and the Minister of Culture of Uzbekistan - in the VI Baku World Forum of Intercultural Dialogue and the opening ceremony of the year "Shusha - the Cultural Capital of the Islamic World 2024". The two countries regularly host cross-organizational Days of Culture and Literature, cinema and creative weeks, tours and art exhibitions.
In April-May 2023, a number of cultural and educational events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev, who made an invaluable contribution to the development and strengthening of Azerbaijani-Uzbek relations, were organized in Uzbekistan.
In March of this year, the exhibition "Heritage in Stitches: A Journey through Embroidery and Sewing Traditions of Uzbekistan" opened at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku. The premiere of the ballet performance "Lazgi. Dance of Soul and Love" was held with great success at the Azerbaijan State Academic Musical Theater.
It is worth noting that both Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan know and respect the music and work of popular performers of the two nations. In recognition of their merits in strengthening intercultural ties, Azerbaijani artists receive high state awards of Uzbekistan. Thus, by the decree of the President of Uzbekistan, the vocalist of the Azerbaijan State Musical Theater named after Rashid Behbudov Gulyanak Mamedova was awarded the honorary title of "People's Artist of the Republic of Uzbekistan" in 2022, and in 2024, the famous Azerbaijani cultural figure Polad Bulbuloglu was awarded the title of "People's Artist of the Republic of Uzbekistan". A number of public and political figures of Azerbaijan were awarded the "Dustlik" Order.
In turn, famous Uzbek performers Nasiba Abdullayeva and Farrukh Zakirov became People's Artists of Azerbaijan, and the artistic director of the "Makom" ensemble named after Yunus Rajabi Hoshimjon Ismoilov, the rector of the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan Kamoliddin Urinboev and a member of the Writers' Union of Uzbekistan Ali Nasirli were awarded the "Dostluk" Order.
Representatives of Azerbaijani nationality living in Uzbekistan today also contribute to strengthening friendly ties. In order to preserve their culture and traditions, the Association of Azerbaijani Cultural Centers operates in our country.
In short, the multifaceted and fruitful interaction between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan today has a powerful foundation that allows us to confidently continue the course towards expanding mutually beneficial partnership. The upcoming visit of the head of Azerbaijan to Uzbekistan, high-level negotiations will undoubtedly give this process additional impetus and will also take bilateral relations to a new, higher level of alliance.
