“President Ilham Aliyev’s meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of the 9th Summit of the European Political Community in Dublin must be assessed from several important aspects.”
This was stated by MP Elchin Mirzabeyli in an interview with Globalinfo.az.
He noted that these contacts are an indicator of Azerbaijan’s growing role in the system of international relations, our country’s participation in various geopolitical and geoeconomic processes, and the expansion of its relations with partner states:
“If we pay attention, the issues discussed in President Ilham Aliyev’s meetings are not limited to the current agenda of bilateral relations. They cover a wide range of issues such as energy security, transport and logistics links, economic cooperation, regional security and pressing problems of international relations. In this context, I would like to particularly note the signing of the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership with the United Kingdom. This document creates a political and institutional framework for the development of cooperation between the two countries, which has taken shape over many years, in new directions. At the same time, the discussion of energy security, investment, trade and transport ties in the meetings with the leaders of Greece, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Moldova shows that Azerbaijan’s importance for Europe is not confined to a single sphere”.
Elchin Mirzabeyli
The MP noted that another important point was the meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy:
“The discussion of humanitarian cooperation, economic ties and Azerbaijan’s experience in reconstruction and construction work in Karabakh and East Zangezur demonstrates that relations between our countries are developing in various directions. The President’s meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is also of great importance in terms of the sustainability of the peace process and Azerbaijan’s proactive stance for a secure future for the region. Advancing the peace agenda between Azerbaijan and Armenia, opening transport and communication links, delimiting borders and developing economic and trade relations are important not only for the two countries but for the future of the South Caucasus as a whole. The transition of peace from political declarations to concrete practical steps, and in this regard Armenia’s fulfilment of its obligations, could create new opportunities for cooperation in the region”.
E. Mirzabeyli added that, in fact, in the meetings in Dublin Azerbaijan is pursuing a multi-vector foreign policy that reconciles its national interests with the expansion of international cooperation:
“On the one hand, our country contributes to Europe’s energy security, while on the other it participates in the development of East-West transport links. At the same time, it seeks to contribute to the shaping of a regional peace and stability agenda. All of this gives grounds to say that Azerbaijan is not a state standing on the sidelines of international processes in the position of an observer, but a state that participates in those processes with its own interests, economic potential and regional capabilities. The significance of these meetings should be measured not by the number of individual diplomatic contacts, but by the political, economic and geostrategic opportunities they create”.
Laman Imran
Globalinfo.az
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