For two years the world has been kept in suspense by the Russian-Ukrainian war, behind which one cannot fail to see a global confrontation between Russia and the West. A scientific conference dedicated to the fight against Islamophobia was recently held in Baku, and this split is much more dangerous than a remake of the Cold War; overcoming it will be much more difficult than tearing down the Berlin Wall, and a return to the ideology of “crusades” does not bode well for either the East or the West.
There is also a growing rift between poor and rich countries, albeit not stated out loud, with shameless plundering of resources, with monstrously unfair unequal access to food, to medical care: suffice it to recall the “vaccine nationalism” of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of course, these problems are being discussed at many platforms. Including those where politicians, international officials, experts and representatives of the business world can be gathered around the same table, both literally and figuratively. Hence the growing popularity of economic fora, security and dialogue conferences, etc. Many would like to have such a platform in their country. But not all succeed in gathering such a prominent and prestigious forum as the one taking place today in the capital of Azerbaijan. Hundreds of delegates have arrived in Baku to attend it, including current and former heads of states and governments, heads of international organizations and major transnational corporations.
Speaking at the opening of the Forum, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the Baku Forum has become one of the world’s leading international conferences. As the head of state said, “I think that today the Global Baku Forum is on a par with such leading international forums as Davos World Economic Forum and Munich Security Conference”. We should add that such reputable and broad representation is not only a “response” to the importance and relevance of the topics raised. It is also a clear indication of Azerbaijan’s increased political weight and the international interest in our region.
Here, perhaps, we should digress a little from the hot chronicle of the 11th Global Baku Forum. Quite recently, Baku hosted the regular meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council. Azerbaijan still plays an important role in the energy security of European countries. Moreover, as this meeting showed, Azerbaijan is successfully transitioning to export of green energy now, and the President of our country says that it is the hydrocarbon-rich countries that should play a leading role in this process. Only yesterday, the visit of the President of Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan ended, where much attention was paid to the discussion of logistic projects. These are not bold ideas, but already existing transport corridors, which are of unprecedented relevance and in demand against the background of the Russian-Ukrainian war and the events in the Red Sea.
But most importantly, Azerbaijan’s victory in Karabakh and the elimination of the illegal separatist regime fundamentally change the situation not only in our region. In his speech at the Forum, Ilham Aliyev was blunt about it: the changes in our region may seem local, but they have much broader implications.
“And this is indeed a very serious geopolitical change, which, I believe, will have many positive implications for the resolution of seemingly intractable conflicts,” the President of our country stressed.
By restoring its territorial integrity, Azerbaijan has set a precedent, a precedent that is very important for many countries of the post-Soviet space, which today face external aggression and occupation of their territories. And this is not just a victory. It is also a challenging test of state maturity. It is a transition to a higher league in politics, to the category of “middle power” states. It implies a foreign policy of a completely different level. And Azerbaijan is putting this policy into practice today. The 11th Global Baku Forum demonstrates this very clearly.
