Baku, March 13, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received co-chairs of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Ismail Serageldin, former heads of state and government, and members of the Center’s Board of Trustees.

Former President of Latvia and co-chair of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center Vaira Vike-Freiberga thanked President Ilham Aliyev for receiving the members of the Board of Trustees.

Vaira Vike-Freiberga congratulated Ilham Aliyev on his victory in the presidential election and emphasized that this was a manifestation of the great trust and confidence of the Azerbaijani people in the head of state. The co-chair of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center also congratulated Azerbaijan on securing its territorial integrity and hosting COP29, noting that it was a great achievement for Azerbaijan. She noted that this was the embodiment of Azerbaijan's global leadership in the field of green energy.

Vaira Vike-Freiberga mentioned the 11th Global Baku Forum in Azerbaijan, which includes more than 350 guests, among them former heads of state and government, foreign ministers, representatives of various countries, international organizations, private and civil society sectors, etc. She noted that political, security, economic, financial and other issues on the global agenda would be discussed at the forum and recommendations would be made on how to deal with these matters.

Ismail Serageldin, the co-chair of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, conveyed his congratulations to Azerbaijan and expressed his hope that the 11th Global Baku Forum would achieve new successes. He said that the Nizami Ganjavi International Center was also ready to support Azerbaijan in the process of chairing and hosting COP29, emphasizing that the Center had many experts involved in the COP process.

The head of state expressed gratitude for the congratulations and wished the forum success. The President of Azerbaijan described the 11th Global Baku Forum as a vital platform for discussing important issues on the international agenda. He pointed out that Azerbaijan was currently taking all necessary measures to make this a result-oriented event, both from the point of view of substance and organization. He said that in addition to its role as a country exporting fossil fuels, Azerbaijan is also implementing very important projects towards green transition. President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the unanimous decision of the international community to hold COP29 in Azerbaijan was a manifestation of great trust in Azerbaijan. Recalling that Azerbaijan had successfully completed its chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement, the head of state said the country's chairmanship of this Movement, active role and representation in various international organizations had created favorable opportunities for the successful completion of chairmanship of COP29. President Ilham Aliyev noted that by hosting this event Azerbaijan was showcasing its determination and intention to contribute to the process of combating climate change at the global level and to the green transition process with its successful steps at the national level. The President of Azerbaijan noted the importance of mobilizing all efforts to prevent the increase of global temperature by more than 1.5 degrees or to keep it within these frames. Taking into account the fact that COP29 is dedicated to the topic of climate financing, he said that Azerbaijan would mobilize international efforts in this area. He said that together with the United Arab Emirates and Brazil, Azerbaijan was doing consistent work in the “Troika” format within the COP29 framework. The head of state spoke about the project of creating a green energy corridor connecting the Caspian and Black seas.

During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on issues on the global and regional agenda and the process of normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. It was noted that Azerbaijan supported the regional peace agenda. President Ilham Aliyev drew attention to the fact that the fundamental principles and the draft of the peace agreement, which form the basis of the peace agenda, were prepared and presented by Azerbaijan, adding that Azerbaijan supported the peace agenda in the South Caucasus.

The sides also spoke about the ongoing restoration and construction efforts in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan. The guests said that they had visited these territories many times, noting that the scale of restoration and construction underway there was exemplary and truly impressive.

Azerbaijan’s dynamically developing cooperation with countries of Central Asia as a single geopolitical space in political, economic, transport, logistics and other fields was cited as an example. Touching upon the importance of the Middle Corridor, the sides emphasized the significance of the projects jointly implemented by Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries and the contribution of the country to the energy security of Europe, especially the European Union. The sides also exchanged views on Azerbaijan's gas exports to Europe and other issues of mutual interest.