(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Qabil Ashirov Read more
The reputation of Azerbaijan has increased in Central Asia,especially since the 44-day War. The visits of presidents ofCentral Asian countries to Azerbaijan confirm it. Besides, manycommon values unite Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries such asreligion, and belonging to the same language families.
In addition, Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries arerepresented in the same several international organizations, suchas CIS, TURKPA, and so on. Furthermore, Central Asian countriesexpressed solidarity with Azerbaijan and supported Azerbaijan'sterritorial integrity. Even Central Asian Turkic countries wentfurther and financed the construction of schools in Azerbaijan'sliberated lands which had been under Armenian occupation for thirtyyears.
The visit of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov to Azerbaijan, whichstarted on April 24, is a perfect example of the friendship andfraternity between the two states. The relations between the twonations date back hundreds of years, and it started with merchantshundreds of years ago then evolved into political relations in thelast century. It is worth noting that Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan hadfraternal relations even during the Soviet Union. Currently, up to20,000 Azerbaijanis live in Kyrgyzstan. They are closely involvedin the socio-political life of Kyrgyzstan. Most of the Azerbaijanisliving in Kyrgyzstan are those who were exiled from Azerbaijanduring the repressions of the 1930s and their children of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Kyrgyzstan activelyparticipate in the country's business and other sectors of theeconomy. Azerbaijanis mainly live in the cities of Bishkek, Talas,and Kara-Balta. Despite living apart from their historicalhomeland, Azerbaijanis living in Kyrgyzstan have preserved theirlanguage and customs.
Today, under the presidencies of Ilham Aliyev and Sadyr Japarovthese relations developed further and the said visit willstrengthen the relations much further. As Azerbaijani PresidentIlham Aliyev said“In principle, the work on strengtheninginteraction between our countries has never stopped. The relevantministries and agencies are in constant contact, activelycooperate, and hold regular consultations.”
Needless to say, the main topic of the discussion between thesides which many focused was the Azerbaijani-Kyrgyz DevelopmentFund. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev touched on the issue inhis speech and noted that the issue of the Fund had been discussed,a lot of applications from business people who want to takeadvantage of these opportunities. The President noted that thiswill be an important tool for cooperation in the sphere ofinvestments.
Besides, the sides discussed energy cooperation, as well. TheAzerbaijani President emphasized that there is immense potentialfor Kyrgyzstan and an interest of Azerbaijani companies to work inthe field of renewable energy.
“Of course, in order to enrich our ties with even morecontent, we will also actively cooperate in the transportationsector in the future. Because both Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan areimplementing large infrastructure projects in the transportationsector, and joining and coordinating our actions are extremelyimportant for the opening of new corridors and creation of newtransport arteries,” Ilham Aliyev said.
One of the main memorable aspects of the visit of the KyrgyzPresident to Azerbaijan was the unveiling monument to ChingizAitmatov in Baku. In his speech at the unveiling ceremony of themonument, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called the ceremony asignificant day in the history of brotherly relations betweenKyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan.
“We are unveiling a monument to the great son of the Kyrgyzpeople, Chingiz Aitmatov. I am sure that it will serve as yetanother symbol of our friendship, our brotherhood and ourunity,” the President noted.
Ilham Aliyev spoke about the visit of Chingiz Aitmatov to Bakuand noted that they had met and conversed during the visit.
“People in Azerbaijan loved his works and respected him as aperson for his active civic position, national spirit andattachment to his roots. I remember that he visited Azerbaijanshortly before his demise and I had the opportunity to meet and hada lengthy conversation with him on many issues. On that day, Ipresented to him a high order of the Azerbaijani state, the“Dostlug” order, as a sign of respect and in recognition of hismerits in strengthening our relations. He has always been on theside of justice,” Ilham Aliyev noted.
In the end, Azerbaijani President congratulated the Azerbaijaniand Kyrgyz people on this significant occasion. He noted that themonument to Chingiz Aitmatov in Baku will symbolize our unity,friendship, and fraternity.
“And I would also like to note that I am sure that theentire Turkic world is proud of its worthy representative and theonly thing we all regret about, of course, is that he passed awaytoo early. And nothing foreshadowed that. As I have alreadymentioned, I met him in Baku shortly before his passing, just a fewmonths before, and he was full of energy as always and looked good told me about his plans. It was 2008, but I remember it as if itwere yesterday.
Once again, I congratulate all of us and say the wordswelcome again – Welcome, distinguished Mr. President. I am surethat the friendship and brotherhood between Kyrgyzstan andAzerbaijan, between our peoples will be eternal,” PresidentIlham Aliyev concluded.
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