Azerbaijan can always count on Belarus; the two countries have been and remain reliable strategic partners. This was stated by the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, on November 28 at a meeting in Minsk with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, BELTA was informed by the press service of the Belarusian leader.
Azerbaijan can always count on Belarus; the two countries have been and remain reliable strategic partners. This was stated by the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, on November 28 at a meeting in Minsk with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, BELTA was informed by the press service of the Belarusian leader.
The heads of the two states held negotiations, first in a narrow format, then in an expanded format with the participation of delegations from both countries.
"We remember when you lent us a shoulder in difficult times, without hesitation. And someday, in detail, it can all be told how issues can be resolved amicably within a few days, including with large sums of money," noted the head of the Belarusian state.
"We have always been people of our word. You have been convinced of this once again," he added. "But nevertheless, I am very grateful to you for your support and assistance, especially in difficult times."
Aleksandr Lukashenko wished Azerbaijan and its people to always stand tall and overcome any difficulties they might face. "And know that you have friends here," emphasized the President of Belarus.
The head of the Belarusian state recalled that the parties have established a practice of annual high-level visits.
"When we focused closely on Belarusian-Azerbaijani relations, our trade turnover also increased, all problematic political issues disappeared, and in personal relationships – God grant that I have such relations with every leader," noted the Belarusian leader. "We are set, and agreed at the time, for the maximum."
The President of Belarus pointed out that even in difficult economic times, the two countries maintain their trade turnover at the previous level, despite a significant decline in trade with other states.
"We have made great progress and created a good foundation for our relations," emphasized the head of the Belarusian state.
Alexander Lukashenko thanked Ilham Aliyev for everything the Azerbaijani side is doing for the two countries, for the cooperation supported in all spheres. "In these difficult times for the whole world, and perhaps even more so for us, I am glad to welcome you to Belarus. I am very pleased when you visit, our like-minded person, my great friend, this is known in Belarus, a friend of the Belarusian people in general," said Alexander Lukashenko.
He stressed that Belarus and Azerbaijan have absolutely no reservations or closed topics. "We cooperate with you, just as region with region in Belarus. This is the level of cooperation," noted the Belarusian leader. "If someone does not like it, that is their problem. We have no forbidden topics."
"Therefore, you can always count on Belarus," stated the head of the Belarusian state.
Ilham Aliyev, in turn, noted that Azerbaijan sees positive dynamics and effectiveness in all areas of cooperation with Belarus.
He stated that Belarus is on a path of rapid economic growth, and issues of social well-being are being actively addressed in the country. "These are not easy times for any country, but nevertheless, Belarus maintains positive development dynamics and ensures socio-political stability. We are all subject to the economic crisis, but Belarus is one of those countries that is least affected by this phenomenon," said the President of Azerbaijan.
Ilham Aliyev stressed that he would be very pleased to host Alexander Lukashenko on an official visit again next year. "Every visit is another political confirmation of the strategic nature of our relations. There are many issues that we are resolving in all areas, in the political sphere, foreign policy, economy, and industry," said the President of Azerbaijan.
On behalf of the Azerbaijani people, he wished Belarus new achievements. "And we, as friends, will always be there, we will always rejoice in your successes," emphasized Ilham Aliyev.
During a meeting in a narrow format, the Presidents of Belarus and Azerbaijan agreed on the development of cooperation from the military-industrial complex to petrochemistry.
"The meaning is one: nothing is closed. We are absolutely open to our friends from Azerbaijan," stressed the head of the Belarusian state.
Alexander Lukashenko noted that he highly values the friendly, fraternal relations between the two countries. "And only Ilham Aliyev knows how much time and effort it took us to build these relations. And we cannot lose them," said the President of Belarus.
"The world has gone mad. You see what is happening. And in this turbulent, unpredictable world, we have to live today, or rather even survive, and we must stick together to counter the threats that exist in the world today," noted the head of the Belarusian state.
Belarus and Azerbaijan have expressed interest in increasing the capacity of joint production facilities and expanding the model range of equipment assembled in Azerbaijan, as well as in creating new cooperative production facilities with Azerbaijani companies using locally produced parts and components.
The President of Belarus noted the high effectiveness of the joint project with Azerbaijan for the assembly of Belarusian MTZ tractors, MAZ and MZKT vehicles at the Ganja Automobile Plant. Since 2007, over 6,000 "Belarus" tractors and about 3,000 vehicles and trailers have been assembled on its premises.
According to the Belarusian leader, there are many opportunities for expanding bilateral cooperation in other areas as well. For example, the Belarusian side can offer inexpensive but reliable MAZ buses of small and medium class to improve transport links, as well as passenger trains produced jointly with the Swiss company Stadler. For urban transport, comfortable buses with environmentally friendly gas generator engines can be assembled in Azerbaijan.
Alexander Lukashenko believes that Belarusian participation will also be beneficial in further improving Azerbaijan's transport infrastructure. For example, in the design of lines and the supply of equipment for organising high-speed urban rail transport between the centre of Baku and its suburbs. This includes providing additional comfortable transport links to Heydar Aliyev International Airport.
Alexander Lukashenko also proposed to Ilham Aliyev, taking into account the crisis phenomena in the world economy, to focus on new ideas and directions for mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.
"Time demands quick, effective solutions from us to increase economic interaction, including in third-country markets," believes the head of the Belarusian state.
The President of Belarus proposed considering cooperative opportunities in the fields of petrochemicals, energy, and agriculture with the participation of Azerbaijani business circles. Alexander Lukashenko believes that significant reserves exist in the development of reciprocal supplies of tobacco and cigarettes. According to him, such relations should be established on a long-term basis.
In the opinion of the Belarusian leader, the sphere of information technologies and information security is of particular relevance in the modern world. He considers it necessary to continue working on finding joint projects in this area.
Alexander Lukashenko expressed hope that the current high-level meeting will give an additional impetus to the process of developing bilateral cooperation and fill it with new concrete content.
"Azerbaijan has been and remains a reliable friend and partner of Belarus," stressed the head of the Belarusian state. "We highly value our friendship and are ready to equally sincerely and openly promote the advancement of your interests in the Eurasian Economic Union, if it is beneficial for you."
The President of Belarus considers the creation of cooperative production facilities in Belarus for processing Azerbaijani raw materials and semi-finished products, with subsequent access to the markets of third countries, including the European Union, a promising direction, taking into account Belarus's geographical location and its membership in the Eurasian Economic Union. The governments of Belarus and Azerbaijan will be given relevant instructions for detailed elaboration of these and other areas.
The presidents discussed the prospects for intensifying cooperation in the sphere of industrial cooperation, the implementation of large infrastructure projects, attracting investments, and much more.
Alexander Lukashenko emphasized that the negotiations were very constructive and fruitful. The parties confirmed the strategic nature of bilateral relations and stated the absence of problems or disagreements between Belarus and Azerbaijan.
Approaches to further joint actions in the context of the global economic stagnation and ambiguous forecasts for the development of the international situation are also consonant.
In this context, the presidents expressed a firm intention to give additional dynamism to Belarusian-Azerbaijani relations. This primarily concerns trade, economic, and investment cooperation.
The parties also embarked on new avenues of cooperation in the fields of information, nano- and biotechnologies, the military-industrial complex, and scientific research.
Following the negotiations, the presidents signed a joint declaration, in which they reaffirmed their intention to promote the development of political dialogue between the countries, strengthen the high level of trust, mutual understanding, and multifaceted cooperation.
In the presence of the heads of state, a treaty and a program on socio-economic cooperation between Belarus and Azerbaijan until 2025 were signed.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Belarus and the State Social Protection Fund of Azerbaijan signed a protocol on cooperation in the field of mandatory state social insurance. An agreement on cooperation was also signed by the national academies of sciences of the two countries, the Belarusian Republican Foundation for Fundamental Research, and the Science Development Fund under the President of Azerbaijan.
According to the head of the Belarusian state, the implementation of the signed documents will contribute to the further expansion of mutually beneficial Belarusian-Azerbaijani relations in political, trade-economic, scientific-technical, and humanitarian cooperation.
"In conclusion, I would like to emphasize once again that there are no unresolved or unsolvable issues between Minsk and Baku. There are also no closed topics for discussion. We have been and remain reliable strategic partners," stated Alexander Lukashenko.
"And our Azerbaijani friends, our brothers in Azerbaijan, should know that in Belarus, we will do everything for Azerbaijan that we are capable of. We will always remember the role you played in relevant difficult times, by lending us a shoulder. We remember this well. And we are a grateful people, and we will always lend our shoulder to the Azerbaijani people in the same way, if it is needed," emphasized the President of Belarus.
Alexander Lukashenko presented the Order of Honour to the First Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, Yagub Eyyubov, and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Ganja Automobile Plant Production Association, Khanlar Fatiev. They were awarded this high honour for their significant personal contribution to strengthening and developing trade and economic relations between Belarus and Azerbaijan.