President Ilham Aliyev, President Sadyr Zhaparov make press statements [PHOTOS/VIDEO]

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Zhaparov are making press statements, Azernews reports.

The President of Azerbaijan made the statement first.

Statement by President Ilham Aliyev

- Dear Sadyr Nurgozhoevich!

Dear guests!

Dear friends!

Today, we are pleased to welcome our dear friend and brother, Sadyr Nurgozhoevich Zhaparov, in Azerbaijan on a state visit. The visit will contribute to the strengthening of friendly and brotherly relations between our countries.

We have just signed documents that will in many respects predetermine the future development of our relations. Each of them is of great importance. I would like to particularly note the Joint Declaration we signed with Sadyr Nurgozhoevich. The agenda of our interaction is quite extensive. Today, both in a narrow and expanded format, we have gone over the main issues of our interaction and held a successful second meeting of the Interstate Council, listened to information from heads of relevant agencies and issued relevant instructions. I am confident that the visit and its results will be clearly visible in practical terms, in terms of strengthening our interaction, increasing the trade turnover and cooperation in all areas.

We have a good tradition of making reciprocal visits every year. I was in Kyrgyzstan last year and the year before last, and Sadyr Nurgozhoevich also visited us last year and the year before last. We will still have the opportunity to meet in Shusha in Azerbaijan in the summer during the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States. I have also invited Sadyr Nurgozhoevich to participate in the COP29 international conference in November. Each meeting is important and valuable in terms of strengthening interaction, our communication, as well as for the resolution of important issues of bilateral cooperation and multilateral cooperation.

Azerbaijan participated as a guest of honor in the 5th Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia. I was invited by my colleague brothers. Just recently, the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan was invited to a ministerial meeting of the foreign ministers of Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. All this is natural, because Azerbaijan and Central Asia are bound together by centuries-old ties of cooperation, friendship and interaction. Today, the region of Central Asia, the Caspian Sea and Azerbaijan, as part of the Caspian and the South Caucasus regions, are of great importance in terms of energy resources, transportation routes and trade. We are seeing great potential here. Most importantly, we are strengthening interaction with our traditional partners from brotherly countries. Among them, cooperation with Kyrgyzstan is of particular importance.

I am very pleased that we actively cooperate in the trade and economic sphere. Today we heard the figures of a multiple increase in trade, though the absolute figures are not very large yet. However, there is a tendency to increase this potential. An addendum to the agreement on the authorized fund of the Azerbaijani-Kyrgyz Development Fund was also signed today. We have quadrupled the authorized fund from 25 million to 100 million dollars. The main reason is that there are a lot of applications. We have been informed that more than 40 applications have been submitted to the Fund for realization of investment projects in Kyrgyzstan. Therefore, I think that 100 million dollars is not the limit either. And we gave a joint instruction to relevant government agencies in order to quickly launch the mechanism of implementation of projects within the framework of the joint investment fund.

But this is not the only mechanism for increasing turnover. We have other forms of investment policy. As was reported today, the construction of a five-star hotel financed by Azerbaijan has already begun on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul, which, as we were promised, will be ready by the end of next year.

I would like to express my special gratitude to Sadyr Nurgozhoevich for his support in the restoration and reconstruction of the liberated territories. On the initiative of the President of Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan will be building a secondary school in the Aghdam district at its own expense. Tomorrow, we will visit the Fuzuli and Aghdam districts together and take part in the laying of the foundation stone of the school. We are grateful for such brotherly support. It is very valuable to us.

Today we also went over through the energy and transportation spheres in detail. We have outlined the potential there as well. We are interested in renewable energy investment projects in Kyrgyzstan. As for the transport sector, both Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan are implementing large-scale transport projects, the construction of railroads, and, of course, we should already start consultations on coordination of transport routes in terms of digitalization and in terms of tariff policy in order to make the route through the Caspian Sea, Central Asia to Europe attractive not only in terms of distance, but also in terms of commercial viability.

We can talk a lot about the format of bilateral cooperation. Of course, it is impossible not to recall that the Days of Culture of Kyrgyzstan in Azerbaijan are taking place now. Today, my colleague and I will participate in the opening of a monument to the great son of the Kyrgyz people, Chingiz Aitmatov, in Baku, which is a tribute to his memory, as well as another symbol of Kyrgyz-Azerbaijani brotherhood.

We are determined to continue active cooperation in all areas. I must say that the documents signed today are not all the documents that are being signed. Another part of the documents is signed in relevant state agencies. So, we are also creating a solid legislative base for our relations.

Once again, Sadyr Nurgozhoevich, you are welcome! I wish you and all our friends from Kyrgyzstan a pleasant time in Azerbaijan.

Thank you.

x x x

Then, the President of Kyrgyzstan made the statement.

Statement by President Sadyr Zhaparov

- Dear representatives of the media.

Ladies and gentlemen.

First of all, I am sincerely grateful to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Heydarovich Aliyev, for the invitation to pay a state visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan. On behalf of our delegation, I would like to express gratitude to our Azerbaijani brothers for the traditionally warm hospitality and cordial welcome. We are delighted to be once again visiting the fertile Azerbaijani land and express our admiration with the beautiful city of Baku. We rejoice at the successes of the brotherly Azerbaijani people, who are confidently building their bright future and strengthening the state of Azerbaijan under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Heydarovich Aliyev.

Today, within the framework of the second session of the Interstate Council, the distinguished President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and I held substantive talks on almost all topical issues of bilateral cooperation and listened to reports from the heads of separate ministries of the two countries. As a result of the meeting, decisions aimed at further expanding bilateral cooperation have been adopted. I would like to emphasize that the negotiations were traditionally held in an atmosphere of friendship, openness and trust, which have always characterized the fraternal ties between our countries. As a result of our meeting, a joint Declaration on the establishment of deep relations of strategic partnership between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Azerbaijan was signed. The signing of this document formalizes the deep nature of bilateral strategic relations we have established between our countries.

We have also discussed the prospects for the Azerbaijan-Kyrgyz Development Fund, touched upon the construction of a five-star hotel on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul by the Azerbaijani side and the construction of a secondary school in the Aghdam district by the Kyrgyz side. The construction of this school is Kyrgyzstan's contribution to the restoration of peace in the regions affected by the conflict. Tomorrow we plan to lower a capsule into the foundation of this school before construction begins.

In addition, we have reached agreement to hold a regular meeting of the joint Kyrgyz-Azerbaijani intergovernmental commission on economic and humanitarian cooperation. The work of the commission is an effective platform for the discussion and promotion of existing issues in order to increase the trade turnover between our countries. During the talks, the sides discussed the prospects of cooperation between the two countries in the development of international transport corridors passing through Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

Today, we have signed a number of bilateral documents aimed at further interaction in various spheres. Among the documents signed, I would like to highlight the five-year comprehensive program on the development of cooperation between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Azerbaijan, which will be used as a road map for bilateral interaction in the medium term. I would also like to note the signing of the Agreement between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Azerbaijan on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of income tax evasion, which is important for the implementation of mutual economic activity by economic entities of the two countries.

We have also expressed our satisfaction with the interaction in the cultural and humanitarian spheres, which is underpinned by the Days of Culture of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Republic of Azerbaijan being held in Baku this week. We would like to express our deep gratitude to the Azerbaijani side for preserving the memory of the world-famous writer, the prominent son of the Kyrgyz people and the Turkic world, a friend of the Azerbaijani people, Chingiz Aitmatov, whose monument we plan to open in Baku today.

We have discussed the upcoming high-level events within the framework of the Organization of Turkic States to be held in Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan this year. I congratulated the esteemed Ilham Heydarovich and, taking this opportunity, I would like to congratulate the entire brotherly nation of Azerbaijan on receiving the right to host this year's global event – the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Indeed, this is an important platform, and we are sincerely happy that our brotherly country is hosting such a major event.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize our satisfaction with the outcomes of today's negotiations and the agreements reached. They clearly demonstrate the mutual desire of our states to develop close ties in all spheres and strengthen our friendly relations in every possible way in the interests of the peoples of the two countries.

Let me once again express my deep gratitude to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Heydarovich Aliyev, for the warm hospitality, and wish peace and further prosperity to the people of Azerbaijan.

Thank you.