UK ambassador hails Azerbaijan-UK strategic partnership, peace progress with Armenia

Outgoing British Ambassador to Azerbaijan Fergus Auld has described the elevation of relations between the United Kingdom and Azerbaijan to a Strategic Partnership as one of the most significant achievements of his diplomatic tenure in Baku, while also praising Azerbaijan’s progress towards peace with Armenia and its role on the international stage.

Speaking at a media reception marking the end of his four-and-a-half-year posting, Auld said the August 2025 decision to elevate bilateral ties reflected both the current depth of relations and their future potential, Caliber.Az reports.

“In August 2025, the United Kingdom and Azerbaijan agreed to elevate our relationship to a Strategic Partnership. That was a statement about the present and the future,” the ambassador said.

He noted that the partnership rests on “three pillars: defence and security, trade and investment, innovation and education,” adding that he was “excited” about the future trajectory of cooperation between the two countries.

Auld also highlighted Azerbaijan’s progress in regional diplomacy, particularly in relations with Armenia. Recalling his arrival in Ganja in early 2022, when the consequences of the 44-day war were still visible, he contrasted that period with recent developments.

“Peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia is a reality. We have lived in peace for only nine months, and we are learning to live in peace,” Auld quoted President Ilham Aliyev as saying at the recent European Political Community Summit in Yerevan.

The ambassador stressed that achieving sustainable peace would require “patience and effort for many years and on all sides,” but added that Azerbaijan had “come such a long way.”

Auld praised Azerbaijan’s hosting of COP29, calling it his “proudest moment” during his diplomatic mission. He said Baku had successfully organised “its largest event ever” amid difficult geopolitical circumstances.

“Azerbaijan did brilliantly. And the UK was pleased to stand alongside it,” he said, recalling the participation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer — the first British prime minister to visit Azerbaijan.

The ambassador further emphasised the growing defence and security partnership between the two countries, noting that London had deployed a resident Defence Attaché to Azerbaijan for the first time, lifted its arms embargo, and expanded bilateral military cooperation.

He also underlined British involvement in demining efforts in the liberated territories of Karabakh and East Zangezur, describing mine action as one of the most important areas of cooperation.

Reflecting on his years in Azerbaijan, Auld said he would miss “the mountains, the carpets, the chay, the dolma and the levengi,” but above all “the people.”

“I arrived as a stranger. I leave as a lifelong friend,” the ambassador concluded.

By Vugar Khalilov