(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 10. The X Global Baku
Forum, which is gaining more importance and attracting more
attention yearly, kicked off on March 9, 2023. Having evolved into
a solid platform for discussions on global issues, this forum has
once again gathered dozens of influential Political figures from
around the world to address up-to-date issues on the agenda. It was
President Ilham Aliyev, as the initiator of the Global Baku Forum,
who turned this platform into one of the most significant centers
in the world.
Azerbaijan confirms its status as a center where all key issues
of intercultural dialogue and multiculturalism are discussed.
Baku's increased attention to the problem of intercultural
dialogue is natural. Azerbaijan is making every effort to develop
this process, as the country knows firsthand what a territorial
conflict, occupation of native lands, and humanitarian catastrophe
is because 20 percent of the country's territory was once occupied
by Armenia, towns and villages were subjected to ethnic cleansing,
and more than 1 million Azerbaijanis were expelled from their
homes.
As President Ilham Aliyev said addressing the participants of
the X Global Baku Forum at the opening ceremony, Armenia conducted
a policy of ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis and expelled them
from Karabakh and created sufferings for a million
Azerbaijanis.
'Despite our attempts to resolve it peacefully, and to persuade
Armenia to comply with the UN Security Council resolutions, which
demanded the immediate, complete, unconditional withdrawal of
Armenian troops from Azerbaijani territories, Armenia just ignored
the UN Security Council resolutions and demonstrated disrespect to
international law and international community. In 1992, just after
the conflict started, the OSCE created Minsk Group. But,
unfortunately for 28 years, Minsk Group did not present any
results, did not produce any result. And it seemed to us in the end
of the negotiation process that they just wanted to freeze the
situation. They wanted to make this conflict frozen forever. But,
we did not agree with that. We did what we considered right to do,
using our right for self-defense, the UN Charter, particularly
Article 51. We liberated our territories by force. This was our
legitimate right,' President Ilham Aliyev pointed out.
One of the panels of the forum is devoted to discussions on
energy and transport corridors. Having liberated Karabakh from
occupation, Azerbaijan has launched a large-scale reconstruction
work, developing major infrastructure projects in the transport and
energy sectors. These initiatives have increased Azerbaijan's
potential to enhance its role as a leading logistics hub in the
region. Currently, Azerbaijan is one of the crucial connecting
links of key transport networks between Europe and Asia.
Thus, for instance, President Ilham Aliyev in his opening speech
once again stressed that, in 2022, transits through Azerbaijan grew
more than 75 percent.
'Our modern transportation infrastructure now is needed more
than ever before - with the railroad connections, highway
connections, with the biggest shipping fleet in the Caspian, with
the biggest air cargo fleet in the region. We really contributed a
lot to transportation security, because many countries now they
need transportation security. They are looking for the new routes,
and that one of these routes is through Azerbaijan,' President
Ilham Aliyev noted.
Azerbaijan's long-term energy strategy basically saves Europe
today. Looking into the future, President Ilham Aliyev provided
Europe's much-needed energy security. The far-reaching plans to
expand TANAP from 16 to 32 bcm, and TAP - from 10 to 20 bcm, will
increase Azerbaijan's contribution to the European energy system
even more. More than 10 European countries have already lined up to
get access to Azerbaijani gas.
Discussions on the transition to clean energy, of course, is
also on the agenda of the forum. And Azerbaijan does not lag behind
in the regard either. One of the most remarkable achievements is
the project on the construction of a transmission line under the
Black Sea, which is going to transport green energy produced in the
Caspian to a number of European countries. Moreover, 25 GW of green
energy is expected to be produced in Azerbaijan, as a result of
contacts signed with various international companies, as well as
157 GW of offshore wind energy. All these will contribute to the
country's energy security, and also support Azerbaijan's
partners.
This Global Baku Forum is themed 'The World of Today: Challenges
and Hopes'. And, indeed, amid these challenges the world faces
today, Azerbaijan brings fresh hope both to its closest neighbors
and partners from the wider region. The country is already
considered as a reliable, trustworthy partner in many aspects. The
growing influence of President Ilham Aliyev in the international
arena strengthens the country's political power. Tackling global
problems in a gathered manner has always been on of the guidelines
of President Ilham Aliyev's far-sighted policy. That is why the
choice of Baku for political forces across the globe to gather and
try to find solutions to pivotal issues is clear.