This was stated by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, speaking on November 3rd at the 10th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Astana, held under the slogan “Turkic Century”.
Emphasizing that ethnic and cultural roots, language, and a shared past form the foundation of these relations, the head of state declared: “Since the Nakhchivan Summit in 2009, our cooperation in various areas has been institutionalized, and the Organization of Turkic States has made great strides in development. Today our organization has political significance and authority on an international level.”
Noting that over the last two years, he had made 20 visits to member and observer states of the Organization of Turkic States, President Ilham Aliyev said that the leaders of the brotherly states have also visited Azerbaijan many times during this period.
The President expressed gratitude for the support in declaring the city of Shusha as the “Cultural Capital of the Turkic World” for the year 2023.
He also mentioned that Azerbaijan has invested over 20 billion US dollars in the economies of Turkic states, with the largest share of investments made in Turkey.
Highlighting the initiation of a process to create joint investment funds between our countries, the head of state informed that the Azerbaijan-Uzbek Investment Fund and the Azerbaijan-Kyrgyz Development Fund have been established.
“Compared to the corresponding period of 2022, in January-September of 2023, the trade turnover of Azerbaijan with Turkic states has increased by 40 percent,” Ilham Aliyev added.
According to him, “unfortunately, today in various regions of the world, the norms of international law are grossly violated.”
Emphasizing that wars and bloody conflicts are flaring up, the president said: “In such a case, the main guarantee of security, primarily, becomes the defensive potential of the countries. I believe that cooperation between member states in such areas as security, defense, and defense industry should be further increased.”
