International cooperation, economy, army and revival of Karabakh
Following important presidential theses

ANALYTICS  18 July 2022 - 10:05

On July 15, at the meeting devoted to the results of the six months of the current year, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev pointed out the key aspects of the internal economic agenda and the main directions of the country's foreign policy. The President generally assessed the results of the work done during the reporting period of the year as successful, noting that the future course of the state will dynamically continue in accordance with the set goals and objectives. The Azerbaijani leader highlighted the priorities of state policy, in particular, the participation of the country in authoritative international organizations.

Azerbaijan's weight in the international arena and the Turkic factor

Azerbaijan has been a full member of the Non-Aligned Movement since 2011 and was honored with the position of chairman of one of the largest (after the UN) international organizations, uniting 120 countries and will perform these functions until 2023. We should immediately note that Azerbaijan was awarded the status of chairman in the Non-Aligned Movement already in the eighth year of membership, and this fact at the international level confirmed the importance of our country in the system of interstate relations. Within the framework of the organization Azerbaijan makes great efforts to solve global problems, particularly the emerging food crisis in the world, and as chairman of the organization pays attention to the development of appropriate mechanisms for the provision of food to certain categories of countries that need appropriate support and assistance.

It should be noted that the flexible policy of the Azerbaijani state as a chairman of this international structure has brought reasonable political dividends to our country. Suffice it to recall that during the 44-day war, a group of leading UN Security Council member states initiated a resolution prohibiting the use of force by Azerbaijan to resolve the conflict with Armenia. The document was prepared and even submitted for an initial discussion. And only thanks to intensive consultations held by the Azerbaijani side with the Non-Aligned Movement member states, during which the essence of the conflict was revealed, they understood our position. And as a consequence, the discussion of the resolution in the UN was blocked by these countries. The states took this decision voluntarily, having made the right conclusions about the essence of the Karabakh conflict.

In turn, Ilham Aliyev, in his speech highlighted that this year, Azerbaijan, chairing the Non-Aligned Movement, contributed much to the institutional development of this structure, holding meetings in Baku of the Parliamentary Network of the Organization. He noted that at the same time a Youth platform is being created, a Youth Forum is expected to be held and a Youth Network of the Non-Aligned Movement is expected to be created.

At the same time, the head of the state noted Azerbaijan's active cooperation with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and stressed the importance of further cooperation with that organization. In the same context, Azerbaijan's role within the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) is especially relevant, and in particular the close contact between the head of the state and leaders of the Turkic world. President Aliyev did not overlook this fact, noting the importance of the visits and meetings he held with the leaders of the Central Asian states, aimed at expanding and strengthening the good-neighborly dialogue between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. This format of multilateral cooperation with Turkic-speaking states enhances the importance of the Turkic factor in the region and the world, and in this sense, Azerbaijan's role and contribution cannot be overstated.

The new agreement strengthens Baku's position in Europe

The relationship between Azerbaijan and the European Union was grounded in the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement that was signed in Luxembourg on April 22, 1996, and entered into force on July 1, 1999. Since then and up to this day Azerbaijan has been building balanced and mutually beneficial relations with the largest economic and political association of European countries - the EU. As we know, work on the new agreement between Azerbaijan and the EU is in the active phase, and, as President Aliyev noted, in the coming days the important document relating to energy security will be signed between the European Union and Azerbaijan to take bilateral cooperation to a higher level. The European Union is going to sign an agreement with Azerbaijan on gas imports without any conditions, to reduce dependence on Russia after the cessation of supplies to Europe. It is about the supply of Caspian natural gas to the European Union in order to increase diversification. It is supposed to export to the EU through the Southern Gas Corridor (which is a network of pipelines from the Caspian Sea via Türkiye to southeastern Europe) in the amount of at least 20 billion cubic meters of gas annually by 2027. It is also known that the EU and Azerbaijan are studying the development of electricity interconnections to promote an important agenda related to renewable energy sources.

In parallel, bilateral cooperation with the EU continues on post-conflict issues, in particular the demining of Azerbaijani territories. Toivo Klaar, EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus, announced on Twitter that the European Union will allocate additional 4.25 million euros for solving this problem. During his visit to Baku, the European diplomat met with the Azerbaijani President and other state officials and expressed the EU's support for the bilateral decision to hold a meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers in Georgia.

As we can see, bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU is not limited to the economy and energy but also covers social and political areas of interaction, which is an indicator of Europe's close attention and interest in the processes taking place both in Azerbaijan and in the whole strategically important region of the South Caucasus.

Regional neighborhood - key nuance of foreign policy

The key directions of Azerbaijan's foreign policy are friendly relations with neighboring countries in the region, and not only. Bilateral ties of our country with such leading regional players as Türkiye, Iran, and Russia, as well as with such superpower as the US is an example of this. Azerbaijan has literally built mutually beneficial ties with each of those countries thanks to the efforts of the Azerbaijani leader and his ability to flexibly establish close contacts with the leaders of those states. It is a fine detail that plays an important role in building a meaningful and balanced regional and international dialogue. As an example, the current US-Azerbaijani, Russian-Azerbaijani, and Iranian-Azerbaijani relations have maintained the dynamics of good neighborliness and mutual interest. The fact that a lot of work has been done with the main power centers and leading international organizations has also been noted by the head of the state. And this is only one of the priorities of the foreign policy of the Azerbaijani state.

Military reforms, economy, social factor

In recent years, Azerbaijan has conducted serious reforms in many areas of the economy, and it is noteworthy that they have also covered the military sphere. President Aliyev spoke at length about this during his speech. He noted that in the reporting period structural reforms were implemented, including military education, serious steps were taken in connection with the exercises, new armed formations were created, new contracts were signed, and military equipment, weapons, and ammunition are purchased and will be purchased. In short, active work in the field of army building continues.

"During this year's adjustment, our military expenditures were increased to acquire the most modern military equipment and weapons. We will increase as much as necessary, because we know well what war and occupation are, and we also know well what a threat is. We must be ready at any time to ensure our rights in any way," the head of state said.

He further emphasized the issues of social protection of servicemen.

"There is a lot of information about both the conditions of service and the living conditions of servicemen. I can say that the work carried out in Azerbaijan in this area rarely has analogues in the world. Today, the state provides servicemen with apartments for impeccable service. All our military camps are thoroughly reconstructed and some 90 percent of them are rebuilt. A huge amount of work has been done on the liberated lands - military camps, bases, military roads, infrastructure - we are doing it in difficult climatic conditions. The social problems of servicemen who showed heroism in the war are in the focus of constant attention, and relevant instructions have been given," said the President, noting that after the war, the state had provided apartments to many families of martyrs and the disabled war veterans. The President stressed that already this year this issue will be completely solved in Baku.

"Last year, 3 thousand apartments and individual houses were provided, this year - 1500 apartments and houses. In general, 12 thousand 500 apartments were given to martyrs' families and the disabled veterans of the I and II Karabakh wars", the head of the state said.

The President also spoke in detail about the economic achievements of the country during the reporting period, saying that not only the rising oil prices contributed to the budget increase but also the implemented reforms in the economy, due to which there is economic growth and growth of the non-oil economy.

"The economy grew by 6.2 percent, the non–oil economy – by 9.6 percent, total industrial production in the field of the industry - 2.1 percent, in the field of the non-oil industry - 11.5 percent. These are very good results, and we see them in real life because it allows us to raise salaries and pensions. The incomes of the population have increased by about 20 percent," the head of state said, noting that foreign trade has grown significantly - by more than 70 percent. At the same time, exports have more than doubled. Non-oil exports grew by more than 25 percent. For 6 months, the positive balance of the foreign trade balance amounted to $ 12.1 billion. As for the energy sector, as the head of state noted, there are also great prospects in this area.

"We have made provisions for the gas to be produced at promising fields, both for domestic needs and for export. So far, our export resource base is the Shah Deniz field. But gas extraction is expected on Absheron, Shafag, Asiman, Umid-Babek, and the deep-water part of Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli fields in the near future," the President said adding that the transport sphere is also growing along with the energy sector as the volume of transit cargo has increased by about 30%.

We are reviving Karabakh!

The primary task facing the state in the post-conflict period is the revival of Karabakh, which was liberated from the Armenian occupation. Tremendous and consistent work is being done in this direction. Of course, this important fact was emphasized by the President, stating that all planned works are going according to plan. In particular, he noted the construction of residential buildings, the commissioning of the village of Aghali, the approval of the master plans of five cities, and the definition of the territories of new villages. The head of the state did not rule out the possibility of creating new villages already this year, expressing hope that the region will become a model not only for Azerbaijan but also for the whole world. In the list of works related to Karabakh and East Zangazur, an important place was given to the issues of food security and grain shortage that Azerbaijan might face. In view of this, as the President noted, a program is currently prepared to eliminate such dependence.

Summarizing the speech of the head of the state on the basis of the important points he made, we can assert that the state is making every effort and attention to implement the master plan, which includes a range of measures aimed at strengthening the socio-economic agenda and enhancing the role of Azerbaijan in the international system as an independent and successful country in the South Caucasus region.

Caliber.Az