Azerbaijan strengthens strategic ties with Central Asia - presidential aide says

Azerbaijan is expanding its foreign policy horizons and strengthening strategic partnerships with Central Asian countries, officials said.

Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, told reporters that the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is now in the past, allowing Azerbaijan to focus on broader regional cooperation, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

“Azerbaijan has a unique geopolitical identity. On one hand, we are a South Caucasus country; on the other, a state of Central Asia and the Caspian region. Azerbaijan is also part of the Middle East and the Black Sea basin. All of this provides a foundation for conducting an active policy within the framework of Azerbaijan’s new foreign policy concept, laid out by President Ilham Aliyev,” he noted.

According to Hajiyev, cooperation in the “Azerbaijan + Central Asia” format contributes to strengthening strategic partnerships and allied relations between the countries.

“This format opens up significant opportunities to expand economic, trade, cultural, and humanitarian ties, as well as transport and logistics cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Central Asian countries,” the presidential aide added.

Recently, there has been dynamic development of relations between Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries, which share common historical roots as well as cultural and spiritual values.

Moreover, Hajiyev highlighted that recent intensive visits by the Azerbaijani president to countries in the region, reciprocal visits by regional leaders to Azerbaijan, and the country’s activities within international organisations are a clear demonstration of the growing ties between Azerbaijan and Central Asia.

By Vugar Khalilov