Baku, May 23, AZERTAC

Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Emomali Rahmon, President of the Republic of Tajikistan, made press statements.

The President of Azerbaijan made the statement first.

Statement by President Ilham Aliyev

- Dear Emomali Sharipovich.

Dear guests.

Dear friends.

It is a great honor for us to welcome our dear guest, a great friend of Azerbaijan, President of brotherly Tajikistan Emomali Sharipovich Rahmon on a state visit.

We have discussed a broad range of issues regarding our interaction in an expanded format with the participation of members of our delegations and in our one-on-one meeting today. We have given specific instructions to members of the governments of our countries regarding the implementation of many projects of economic nature, projects related to industrial cooperation, as well as cooperation in the humanitarian sphere.

By the end of the year, when Emomali Sharipovich visits us again, we will go over all the issues again and exercise control over the implementation of these instructions. I have invited the President of Tajikistan to participate in the climate conference in November. This invitation has been accepted. We are extensively preparing for this international event and counting on the active participation of Tajikistan. I am confident that our Tajik friends will make a great contribution to the success of this conference and the achievement of good results.

Our interaction rests on the determination of our peoples, who have been cooperating for centuries, have been friends, and have created together. Today, our interstate relations have reached the highest level.

We have just signed the Declaration on Strategic Partnership, which reflects the nature and spirit of our relations, as well as the determination of our peoples. The Declaration covers almost all spheres of interaction. It expresses mutual support and a focus on concrete results.

Today, we also discussed in detail the issues of economic interaction. Along with the Declaration on Strategic Partnership, we have signed 13 other documents, totaling 14 documents, some of which were signed here and others earlier. This significantly strengthens the legal framework of our relations. On the eve of the visit of the President of Tajikistan, a business forum was held, and documents and memorandums of understanding were also signed within the framework of that forum, and this was reported to us today. I think this will allow us the opportunity to significantly increase the volume of mutual trade.

The Days of Culture of Tajikistan in Azerbaijan, which are currently underway here and will last several days, almost one week, are also an important event in bilateral relations. I think and I am confident that this brings joy to Azerbaijani spectators, who have the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the rich culture of the Tajik people.

We also discussed in detail issues related to industrial cooperation, and I am sure that what we talked about and the instructions we have given to members of the government will be realized in the shortest possible time.

The transport sector was also in the spotlight of our discussions. We carefully went over the issues related to logistical links in order to make the Middle Corridor and the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, which is a part of it, more appealing for shippers from Tajikistan. I informed my colleague that Azerbaijan has practically completed all major transport and logistical projects on its territory and is now ready to receive large volumes of cargo from different directions: from East to West and vice versa, and also from North to South and vice versa.

We also discussed issues related to geopolitical changes, the global situation, and the situation in our regions. We discussed in detail the strengthening of security measures and increasing cooperation in this sphere, as well as issues related to education, culture and agriculture. In other words, even the composition of the delegations of our countries speaks volumes of the broad agenda between us. But most important, of course, is the sincerity in our relations, the friendly and brotherly nature of relations between Tajikistan and Azerbaijan. Of course, one of the most important roles is the personal contacts between the heads of state. I visited Tajikistan twice last year – with a state visit, and Emomali Sharipovich also invited me as a guest of honor to the Summit of Heads of State of Central Asia. Also last year, we held the Summit of the UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia, SPECA, and Emomali Sharipovich visited us. In other words, our regular contacts in Tajikistan and Azerbaijan, not to mention our meetings on the sidelines of international events, of course, are the most important factors of our interaction. This gives a powerful impetus to all directions in order to fill relations with specific content.

Once again, dear Emomali Sharipovich, I warmly welcome you. I would like to thank you for accepting the invitation and making a state visit. I wish the brotherly people of Tajikistan new victories under your leadership. As a person who has been visiting Tajikistan for almost 20 years, I have witnessed the large-scale transformations, economic and social development, as well as successes in urban development. And every time I visit Dushanbe, I see how much more beautiful and comfortable the city is becoming for its residents and visitors. Therefore, I once again congratulate you on all these achievements. I wish you and the brotherly Tajik people continued success.

x x x

Then, the President of Tajikistan made the statement.

Statement by President Emomali Rahmon

- Thank you, esteemed Ilham Heydarovich.

Dear representatives of the media.

Ladies and gentlemen.

First of all, I would like to cordially thank the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, my dear friend and brother Ilham Heydarovich Aliyev and the brotherly people of Azerbaijan for the traditional hospitality, high attention and warm welcome.

I am very pleased to be visiting the beautiful city of Baku again. This city has ancient history and is one of the largest industrial, economic and scientific-technical centers of the region today. The unique appearance of the capital of Azerbaijan is the embodiment of vibrant socioeconomic development of the country and sustainable growth of the well-being of the Azerbaijani people.

Our today's meetings have been held in a constructive and trusting atmosphere, which is typical of Tajik-Azerbaijani relations of friendship and cooperation. During the talks, we thoroughly discussed the entire spectrum of relations between the two countries. We reached a number of important agreements that will significantly strengthen the foundation of long-term development.

As esteemed Ilham Heydarovich said, we have made a historic decision that will raise our interstate relations to the level of strategic partnership. This decision will certainly open a new chapter in the history of our cooperation.

For my part, I would like to note the importance of maintaining the regular political dialogue at all levels.

Tajikistan highly appreciates the personal contribution of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to the development of bilateral relations between our countries. During the talks, special attention was paid to the practical implementation of the agreements reached during last year's state visit of the President of Azerbaijan to Tajikistan. The development of trade and economic cooperation has been at the center of our attention. We have instructed the governments of our countries to exercise rigorous control over the full implementation of the Intergovernmental Action Plan on Economic Cooperation until 2025. In order to ensure more effective functioning of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, we have proposed to raise the level of its co-chairmanship to deputy prime ministers.

We have also exchanged views on promoting the development of interparliamentary dialogue.

During the talks, we reiterated our readiness to consider the possibility of participation of Azerbaijani companies and financial institutions in the implementation of projects and programs in Tajikistan as a matter of priority. The business forum held in Baku within the framework of our visit shows that the sides have ample opportunities to develop our trade and economic ties. I would like to express hope that the results of the business forum, along with the bilateral documents signed today, will give a strong impetus to our cooperation in this direction. It should be noted that the total value of commercial contracts and agreements signed on the sidelines of the forum totals more than 700 million dollars US. We have given specific instructions to relevant ministries and agencies to work out new approaches to expanding the range of mutually supplied goods in order to increase the volume of trade turnover between our countries.

During the talks, we paid special attention to the agricultural sector. We welcome the signing of the Roadmap for the development of cooperation in the field of tourism. In this regard, we have given instructions to relevant agencies, including the measures to resume direct air service between our capitals.

Special attention has been paid to the spheres of transportation and communications. We have noted with satisfaction the tendency towards increasing the volume of cargo transportation of Tajik state and commercial entities across the territory of Azerbaijan. We have expressed gratitude to the Azerbaijani side for providing Tajik cargo carriers with acceptable transit tariffs.

The issue of cultural and humanitarian cooperation was also high on the agenda of our talks. In this context, we emphasized the development of cooperation in the field of education. We have agreed to increase the number of mutually allocated quotas for education in the universities of the two countries. The cultural events held within the framework of the visit once again confirmed the interest and desire of the citizens of our countries to get acquainted with each other's cultural achievements. We have offered our friends the opportunity to hold the Days of Azerbaijani Culture in Tajikistan next year and organize a Festival of Friendship of Tajik and Azerbaijani peoples within the framework of that event.

Security risks and threats were discussed during the talks. For my part, I would like to note that the current situation in the world continues to be quite complicated and tense. Taking this opportunity, I would like to emphasize that Tajikistan is in favor of resolving all contradictions and conflicts through peaceful means. We express our satisfaction with the level and content of fruitful cooperation with Azerbaijan in the sphere of security. In this context, we attach great importance to combating terrorism and extremism, as well as any manifestations of radicalism and transnational organized crime, including cybercrime and drug smuggling. We believe it necessary to strengthen coordination between special services and other specialized agencies in this area.

We have spoken in favor of continuing the practice of supporting each other's initiatives within international and regional organizations. We welcome Azerbaijan's hosting of this year's regular session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29).

I would like to emphasize that we are optimistic about the future development of Tajik-Azerbaijani relations.

In conclusion, I would like to once again express my sincere gratitude to you, dear Ilham Heydarovich, and the brotherly people of Azerbaijan for the warm welcome and fraternal hospitality.

Also, I would like to note that in order to continue our constructive dialogue, I was pleased to invite my dear friend and brother Ilham Heydarovich Aliyev to visit Tajikistan.

Thank you for your attention.