President Aliyev: Azerbaijan recognised globally as a middle power

At a meeting dedicated to agricultural issues on May 25, Ilham Aliyev stated that Azerbaijan’s growing international standing and expanding network of partnerships have strengthened the country’s position on the global stage, while also stressing the need to revitalise the agricultural sector and reduce disparities between urban and rural areas.

“Our international relations are very extensive. The number of countries wishing to cooperate with Azerbaijan is increasing year after year,” Caliber.Az quotes him as saying.

“We enjoy a very high reputation on a global scale and a very positive image. Azerbaijan is already recognized globally as a middle power, and companies from many countries want to cooperate with us in various fields,” the head of state added.

Addressing demographic and regional development challenges, President Aliyev pointed to the issue of urbanisation, describing the migration from villages to cities as a global trend that also affects Azerbaijan.

“This was also reflected in the discussions of the World Urban Forum recently held in Baku—large-scale urbanization, meaning the influx from rural areas to cities. This is a negative trend inherent not only to our country but to all countries,” he said.

Noting that many states have struggled to tackle the issue effectively, the Azerbaijani leader stressed the importance of creating conditions that would encourage people to return to rural areas.

“We, however, must ensure that a process of return from cities to rural areas begins. For this to happen, of course, the differences between rural and urban areas across all sectors must be reduced,” President Aliyev said.

The head of state also underlined the role of state support measures in strengthening the agricultural sector, particularly through subsidies and concessions.

“Subsidies are of great importance for the development of agriculture. Azerbaijan is among the few countries in the world applying broad and diversified subsidy mechanisms,” he stated.

Emphasising that additional improvements are still needed, President Aliyev noted that the government provides “various concessions,” including discounts on fertilisers and fuel.

“I can say that such measures are implemented only in a limited number of countries worldwide,” he added.

The president further acknowledged that despite progress achieved through earlier reforms and programmes, the agricultural sector has recently experienced a slowdown in development.

“The adopted programs and decisions have brought about a major turning point. However, the stagnation observed in the development of agriculture over the past few years naturally gives us pause for thought. For this purpose, a State Program has been prepared and will be adopted,” President Aliyev said.

By Vugar Khalilov