Turkmenbashi, August 22, AZERTAC

Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty of Turkmenistan, and Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, delivered a joint press statement on August 22 in Turkmenbashi regarding the outcomes of the high-level meeting between Turkmenistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

First, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty of Turkmenistan, made a press statement.

- Dear representatives of the media.

Dear delegates.

Ladies and gentlemen.

First of all, I would like to thank the leaders of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan for their participation in today's meeting and for accepting the invitation to attend the trilateral summit.

Today's meeting is of historic importance for multilateral relations. During the talks, we discussed various aspects of cooperation, strengthening multilateral interaction, in particular in the political, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres. Today, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are conducting an open dialogue, cooperating and supporting each other's initiatives within international organizations, including the UN. This dialogue is conducted on an equal basis not only in the trilateral format, but also within the entire region in order to enhance peace and stability.

With respect to economic cooperation, we have examined the potential of our countries, which contributes to the development of not only our region but also of the Eurasian region as a whole. This interaction will strengthen geo-economic cooperation within our entire region. There is ample evidence confirming this. It is enough to note the electric power cooperation, where we have established favorable contacts.

We have also discussed important issues related to the deepening of strategic partnership in the gas sector, as well as further prospects, and reaffirmed our readiness to strengthen this cooperation.

The key area of bilateral cooperation is the transport sector. In order to restore the Great Silk Road, we have agreed to step up our contacts within the framework of connecting transport corridors linking Europe with Asia. In particular, we have considered the possibility of strengthening the transport infrastructure of Central Asia and the Caspian Basin.

As part of the multilateral dialogue, we have also agreed to strengthen humanitarian ties. In particular, there is tremendous potential in the fields of education, science, sports, healthcare, art, carpet weaving, and other areas. We have good experience of cooperation in these areas. In general, this meeting opens up new opportunities for us to strengthen trilateral ties, and in this context, we must work hard to achieve our goals.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to thank the leaders of the two countries and wish the peoples of the two countries prosperity.

Thank you.

XXX

Then, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev spoke.

Statement by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev

- Dear representatives of the media.

Ladies and gentlemen.

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty, esteemed Gurbanguly Malikgulyyevich Berdimuhamedov for organizing our high-level meeting today and for the warm welcome extended to us.

Two weeks ago, it was here in the unique Avaza that an important United Nations forum was held at a high level – the third international conference on landlocked developing countries.

In the International Year of Peace and Trust, problems that are extremely acute for our region were at the center of global discussions..

I would like to once again congratulate the fraternal people of Turkmenistan on this great achievement of the policy of positive neutrality.

Taking this opportunity, I would also like to cordially congratulate the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, dear Ilham Heydarovich Aliyev, and the fraternal people of Azerbaijan on the historic event – the signing of the Joint Declaration with Armenia in Washington. This is clear evidence of the fulfillment of the cherished aspirations of the courageous and steadfast people of Azerbaijan.

We believe that the establishment of lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus will allow us to fully realize the enormous potential of our cooperation in the economic, transport, energy, and humanitarian spheres.

Dear journalists, I would like to emphasize that I am deeply pleased with the constructive and productive negotiations held in the trilateral format today.

Our meeting clearly demonstrated a strong political will to deepen the strategic partnership in the interests of our peoples.

Given the geographical location, the mutually complementary nature of economies and transport and communications interconnectivity, such cooperation will benefit all of us.

I would like to note that in the face of unpredictable global political processes and changing global economic conditions, our partnership is aimed at ensuring sustainable development.

During the talks, we paid special attention to the development of transit corridors, including the effective use of the capabilities of the ports of Turkmenbashi and Baku, and the formation of modern logistics infrastructure.

We also discussed in detail plans to connect the existing and prospective routes in our region in order to deepen the integration of national transport systems. Uzbekistan advocates for a coordinated policy in this area, primarily concerning tariff policy and creating favorable conditions for businesses entering international markets. We have agreed to work together on projects to develop logistical infrastructure and ferry transportation across the Caspian Sea.

In addition, we explored opportunities for cooperation between the three countries in the energy sector. We are talking about promising projects for the development of hydrocarbon fields and the export of generated electricity. The central place on the agenda of the talks was given to the tasks of significantly increasing the volume of trade turnover and expanding the scale of industrial cooperation. We have agreed to stimulate mutual supplies of high-quality products manufactured by our national enterprises.

Conditions will be created for the implementation of new investment projects with the fullest involvement of the potential of the regions of our countries. We will expand cooperation in the areas of rational use of water resources and counteracting environmental threats.

In addition, we have proposed adopting a joint program in the field of tourism and cultural exchanges. Work on the implementation of the agreements reached and the documents signed will be carried out by relevant ministers on the basis of the “roadmap”.

Dear participants of the event, in conclusion of my speech, I would like to emphasize that today's historic meeting will serve to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation between our countries, create sustainable trade, transport and energy corridors, and accelerate regional integration processes.

Thank you for your attention.

XXX

Then, the President of Azerbaijan made his statement.

Statement by President Ilham Aliyev

- Dear Gurbanguly Malikgulyyevich.

Dear Shavkat Miromonovich.

Dear friends.

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my brother Gurbanguly Malikgulyyevich for the invitation and hospitality.

This is my second visit to the city of Avaza, and the development taking place here clearly shows that the country is in capable hands. Thanks to the wise leadership of Gurbanguly Malikgulyyevich, both Avaza and all other cities and villages are developing and improving, with new cities emerging. Among the documents signed today is the sister city agreement between Arkadag and Fuzuli. This, in fact, is a symbol of our brotherhood. The Turkmen and Azerbaijani peoples have lived and created as one family and as brothers for centuries. Today, two independent states remain committed to these traditions, keep these traditions alive, and are moving towards new horizons together.

On my invitation, Gurbanguly Malikgulyyevich was on a visit to Azerbaijan in July this year. We were in both Baku and the Karabakh region for two days together and discussed a number of issues. Our positions also coincide. The key point is that Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, as two brotherly countries, will continue to move forward shoulder to shoulder, addressing all issues in an atmosphere of friendship and brotherhood and expanding not only bilateral but also multilateral cooperation opportunities.

While in Fuzuli, Gurbanguly Malikguliyevich proposed building a mosque here as a gift from Turkmenistan. I accepted this proposal with gratitude. Although only a month has passed, the architectural design of the mosque has already been completed and the foundation will be laid in the near future. This is an example of the support of the Turkmen people and the Leader of Turkmenistan in particular for the Azerbaijani people, for Azerbaijan. It is also the embodiment of our brotherhood.

We recently welcomed my brother Shavkat Miromonovich with the same brotherly feelings. We were together at the ECO Summit in Khankendi. While in Khankendi, we got acquainted with the operations of a large sewing factory created on the initiative of Shavkat Miromonovich. Currently, more than two hundred people are working there. The vast majority of them are women, and as a result of the expansion of this factory, the number of people working there will increase several times. This is a great gift from the fraternal people of Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan and to the reviving Karabakh region. The first gift among the steps taken towards the revival of Karabakh was also provided on the initiative of Shavkat Miromonovich in the form of a secondary school with a capacity of 960 students in Fuzuli. It is named after the great Uzbek thinker Mirzo Ulugbek. That school was inaugurated in our presence, and hundreds of young people from Karabakh are already studying there. Every time we pass by that school, we express our gratitude to both the fraternal people of Uzbekistan and their leader Shavkat Miromonovich.

This is friendship and brotherhood not just in words, but in deeds. Our brothers have always been with us in the most important and most difficult times for us. This is also the case today. It has already been noted here that this is a historic meeting and a historic summit. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my brother Gurbanguly Malikgulyyevich again for putting forward this initiative.

The issues discussed have already been mentioned here, so I would not like to repeat that. But I can say one thing – the instructions have already been given to relevant state bodies to create a trilateral cooperation format and submit proposals on specific directions for our next meeting. All instructions have been given. I repeat what was already mentioned here - transport, transit, logistics, power industry, oil, gas sectors and cultural relations. And I have no doubt that all these instructions will be implemented in a timely manner.

Joining the opinion of my colleagues, I would like to conclude my speech by saying again that this is a historic day. A new multi-faceted cooperation format aimed at peace and partnership is emerging in our region. As they say, may it be good and successful. Thank you.