“We believe in the middle power concept, we set our own agenda.”
“Elchi” reports that this was stated by Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan – Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, in his speech at a panel discussion titled “Multilateralism in Crisis: Reimagining Global Cooperation” within the framework of the XIII Global Baku Forum held in Baku.
He stated that sometimes when “middle power” is mentioned, people initially think of a country’s military capabilities, GDP, or territorial size: “We perceive ourselves as a middle power, but the goal here is not a competition in GDP, territory, or military strength. For us, a middle power is an approach focused on solving problems and the will to contribute to its own region, as well as to the global agenda. Through the middle power concept, we become participants in the global agenda.”
Hikmat Hajiyev noted that UN institutions compete with each other instead of cooperating: “Instead of efficiently using limited resources, broader elements of competition emerge. This is their inability to adapt to changing circumstances. That is why, when seeing the adaptation and flexibility problems of some multilateral institutions, countries like Azerbaijan are transitioning to a broader ‘middle power’ concept.”