(MENAFN- AzerNews) By
Roots of friendship and brotherhood between Azerbaijan and
Uzbekistan, which have common history and culture, national
traditions go deep into history, reports.
The relations between the two countries have further
strengthened in recent years. After Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan
gained independence, the historic relations of friendship and
brotherhood between the two countries have been further developed
reaching their current level. In the first years of independence,
the great leader of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev and the
former president of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov made an exceptional
contribution to the development of relations between the two
fraternal countries, the formation of interstate relations.
Today, it can be said with full confidence that
Azerbaijani-Uzbek relations have entered a new stage of
development, they are successfully continuing and developing by the
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Uzbekistan
Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Azerbaijani-Uzbek relations today are
developing at an even faster pace thanks to a far-sighted policy,
mutual visits and regular contact between the leaders of the two
countries.
Over the past seven months, President Ilham Aliyev visited
Uzbekistan twice - on June 21-22, he arrived with a state visit in
Uzbekistan, and on September 15-16, the Head of state took part in
the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member
countries in Samarkand as an honored guest. Thus, the current visit
to Uzbekistan is the third one in 2022.
Azerbaijan, as a leading state in the region, comes up with
important initiatives for the development of relations between
Turkic states, and makes a great contribution to the development of
Turkic society
Azerbaijani-Uzbek relations are developing day by day within the
framework of the Permanent Council of Ministers of Culture of the
International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY), The
Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic Speaking
Countries (TurkPA), Turkic Academy, Turkic Culture and Heritage
Foundation, Turkic Business Council and other structures.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established
on October 2, 1995. The Embassy of Azerbaijan in Uzbekistan started
operations in August 1996, and the Embassy of Uzbekistan in
Azerbaijan - in July 1998. As of today, 154 documents were signed
between the two countries
Currently, there is a comprehensive and strategic partnership
between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. Great leader Heydar Aliyev has
always treated the Uzbek people with great love. The friendly
relations that developed in 1970 between Heydar Aliyev, who headed
Azerbaijan at that time, and the head of Uzbekistan Sharaf
Rashidov, became the basis for today's development of relations
between the two countries.
The 'Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the Republic
of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Uzbekistan' signed by the
National Leader Heydar Aliyev and the first President of Uzbekistan
Islam Karimov in Baku in 1996, as well as the visit of the National
Leader to Uzbekistan in June 1997, determined the contours of the
future relations based on mutual understanding, trust and
respect.
The history of both countries has similar tragedies. At the
beginning of the last century, both Azerbaijanis and Uzbeks became
victims of Armenian atrocities. The Armenian Revolutionary
Federation also known as Dashnaktsutyun with the support of the
Bolsheviks, committed a genocide of Uzbeks in the Kokand region in
February 1918, as a result of which 35,000 people were killed. In
just three days, about 10,000 civilians were brutally killed in
Kokand city.
Traditional friendly and brotherly relations have historically
developed between the people of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan and,
currently, relations between the two countries are developing along
the ascending line, including the economic sector. A meeting of the
Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Cooperation between
Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan was held on August 1, 2022. During the
meeting, agreements were reached on strengthening cooperation in
the trade, economic, agricultural, energy, healthcare, transport
and logistics, environmental sectors, in the provision of public
services, cultural, humanitarian, social and tourism areas.
In addition, the first trilateral meeting of the Ministers of
Foreign Affairs, Trade, Economy and Transport of Azerbaijan,
Türkiye and Uzbekistan was held in Tashkent in August 2022. And the
first trilateral meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and
Transport of Azerbaijan, Türkiye and Kazakhstan was held in Baku in
June.
The volume of trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan
reached $131.06 million from January through September 2022. This
indicator reached $111.9 million in 2021. Also this year there was
an increase in the volume of cargo transportation. Thus, cargo
transportation amounted to 578,000 tons from January through
September 2022. This is two to three times more than in the
previous year (for comparison 172,100 tons in 2021 and 272,100 tons
in 2020).
At the same time, Uzbekistan always supported the fair position
of Azerbaijan on the issue related to the former Karabakh conflict.
It's noteworthy that Uzbekistan has already joined the construction
work on the liberated territories. Following the direct initiative
of President Mirziyoyev, the government of Azerbaijan was presented
with a project to build a large school in the Fuzuli district at
the expense of the Uzbek state.
At the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States (at
that time called the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking
States), held via videoconference on March 31, President Mirziyoyev
congratulated Azerbaijan on the return of Nagorno-Karabakh and the
restoration of historical justice. Uzbekistan back in March 2008
became the only Central Asian country that supported the resolution
entitled 'The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan'
during the voting at the UN General Assembly.
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced his
intentions to build a large school in Azerbaijan's Fuzuli at the
expense of funds from the state budget of Uzbekistan at the VIII
Summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Istanbul in November
2021.
There are historically close ties between Azerbaijan and
Uzbekistan. The people of these countries drew inspiration from
each other's culture, mutually enriching them. The Days of
Azerbaijani Culture and Literature were held in Tashkent, Bukhara,
Navoi and Samarkand from October 16 through October 22, 2022.
Considering all this, it can be said that Azerbaijani-Uzbek
relations, close to each other in ethnic, religious and cultural
values, will continue to develop incrementally, this cooperation
will make a significant contribution to the development of both our
countries and peoples and the entire Turkic world.
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