The foundation of Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan relations is based on friendship and brotherly ties.
elchi reports that President Ilham Aliyev stated this at the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum.
“The personal friendship between the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Miromonovich, and me has raised our relations to a higher level. The President of Uzbekistan was the first to help us in the reconstruction of Karabakh. A beautiful and large school named after Mirzo Ulugbek was built in the city of Fuzuli, and I, together with Shavkat Miromonovich, carried out the opening of that school. After that, other brotherly states gave us gifts. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan. But the first aid came from Uzbekistan. Every time I am in Uzbekistan, I am once again convinced of how close and connected our peoples are. When you see the written words, there is no need for any translation. Our languages are very similar to each other. Of course, there is a slight difference in pronunciation, but in principle, everything is understandable. Very great historical ties unite us. The development of relations with Uzbekistan is one of our priority issues. I must also mention that Uzbekistan did not end its brotherly mission with just the school. The first large industrial enterprise in the city of Khankendi – a garment factory – was opened with the investment of Uzbekistan, and again, we carried out the opening of that factory with the honorable President Mirziyoyev. Many economic industrial projects are being implemented. We created a joint investment fund. An investment fund worth 500 million dollars is engaged in the implementation of various projects both in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. Today, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, SOCAR, is investing in a very important exploration field in Uzbekistan, and I hope that they will give us good news in the near future,” the head of state noted.
According to the President of Azerbaijan, because today energy security issues, especially gas supply, are important for many countries: “I hope that the exploration work in the Ustyurt field will end with a good result. As for the Azerbaijan-Central Asia format, President Mirziyoyev also has a special role here. Azerbaijan has already joined this consultative council as a full member. Twice I was invited to summits as a guest of honor. Last time, the Azerbaijan+Central Asia unified Consultative Council was created, and this makes us very proud and very happy. This is a unique event. Because from a geographical point of view, we are located in the South Caucasus, but the cultural, historical, and ethnic ties are so strong and the political relations are so multifaceted that our friendly Central Asian countries decided to accept us. This will also have a positive impact on geopolitical and geoeconomic relations. Thus, Central Asia is uniting with Azerbaijan in a single economic and political space. At the same time, this has great significance in terms of connections and the implementation of transport and logistics projects. Of course, President Mirziyoyev’s foresight and strategic vision have played a very important role here. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our Uzbek brothers on their successes. I am often in Uzbekistan, and I will probably be there this year as well. Every time I am there and see the innovations, I am very happy. I know that the brotherly people of Uzbekistan are moving forward confidently under the leadership of President Mirziyoyev.”