An exchange of documents signed during Vladimir Putin’s state visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan was conducted in the presence of the heads of state.
The documents signed include intergovernmental agreements on cooperation in healthcare, medical education and science, as well as plant quarantine and protection. Additionally, the relevant agencies of both countries signed an agreement on cooperation in food safety.
The sides also signed interagency memorandums of understanding with regard to climate change, low-carbon development, and labour inspection, as well as a Memorandum of Understanding between the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Export and Investment Promotion Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
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President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev: Mr Putin, ladies and gentlemen, friends,
Once again, I would like to warmly welcome our dear guests. The President of the Russian Federation is here on a state visit to Azerbaijan, which holds particular significance. Our top-level meetings are a regular occurrence: this year alone, we have met twice – once in Moscow and once during an international event. However, a state visit is a special occasion, underscoring the high level of our interstate relations.
The documents adopted today, particularly the presidents’ Joint Declaration, reaffirm the friendly and allied nature of our relationship.
The provisions of the Declaration on Allied Interaction, signed in February 2022, are being effectively implemented. Our countries continue to act as allies, friends, close partners and neighbours.
Today, we thoroughly discussed a broad spectrum of interstate relations. The diversity of our delegations alone highlights the extensive range of activities undertaken by our interstate agencies.
We conducted a detailed analysis of trade and economic relations, noting that the growth in trade, both last year and in the first half of this year, reflects significant potential for further cooperation. Last year, we surpassed the US$4 billion mark, and we agreed that this is definitely not the limit.
Cultural and humanitarian cooperation remains a key focus of our partnership. In Azerbaijan, 324 schools offer instruction in Russian, educating around 160,000 students. Additionally, over 800,000 students study Russian as a second language. Russian-language departments function in 26 Azerbaijani universities, accommodating more than 15,000 students.
Branches of Lomonosov Moscow State University and Sechenov Medical University are also thriving. Today, we discussed further advancing our cooperation in the field of education.
During our meeting held in a restricted format, we delved into regional security issues. Since September of last year, a completely new situation has emerged – Azerbaijan has fully restored its sovereignty and territorial integrity. This new reality naturally presents fresh opportunities for establishing strong and lasting peace in the South Caucasus. The stability and security of the entire South Caucasus region heavily rely on close cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan.
We also thoroughly examined the progress of the North-South project, which is crucial for our interstate relations and for matters concerning regional transport corridors and routes.
I must say that both railway and road sections of the North-South corridor have been successfully launched on the territory of Azerbaijan. Today, we are working actively to upgrade the railway section of this corridor in order to increase its capacity. This means a possibility of transporting 15 million tonnes of cargo or more, up to 30 million, per year, which is quite realistic. In this case, I hope that both Russia and Azerbaijan and other participants in this corridor will continue their activities together.
I must also say that this year we have already allocated about US$120 million (in dollar equivalent) of funds to upgrade this railway section in order to reach the required capacity.
There are 20 daily flights between various cities of Russia and Azerbaijan. I must say that even during the Soviet era there were not so many mutual flights. Moreover, they are distributed approximately equally between Azerbaijani and Russian carriers, which proves that contacts between people are regular. Today, we also see an increase in mutual visits between the two countries’ citizens.
As for the energy sector, the situation was analysed in detail both in the oil and gas sector and in the power industry. We are actively working in this area, and I am confident that we will continue to coordinate our activities.
We have also discussed an issue, which is of concern to both sides: the ecological situation on the Caspian Sea and its drastic shallowing.
From the window of the room where we were holding talks, I showed President Putin the rocks that were underwater just two years ago, and today are already a metre above the surface. We can see this happening along the entire coast of the Absheron Peninsula and more, along the entire coast of Azerbaijan. We have agreed to jointly analyse the situation and outline ways both in a bilateral and five-party format in order to prevent a potential environmental disaster. That is, we can already see this environmental disaster with the naked eye.
I have thanked the President of Russia and the Russian side in general for supporting Azerbaijan as a candidate venue to hold the COP-29 Climate Change Conference [of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change]. Russia’s support was extremely important, and we are now working on issues related to the preparation of this climate conference, including in the bilateral format.
I would like to extend my gratitude once again, Mr President, for accepting my invitation and coming to Azerbaijan on a state visit. This is a historical visit without a doubt, which will make a significant contribution to promoting the relations of friendship and alliance between our countries.
Thank you for your attention.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Aliyev, friends, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to express my gratitude to Mr Aliyev once again for the invitation to make a state visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan. It is a pleasure to be on the welcoming soil of Azerbaijan and to admire the remarkable sights of Baku, which has flourished under your leadership.
I want to emphasise that Russia attaches great importance to developing a comprehensive and friendly relationship with Azerbaijan. This relationship is based on the principles of equality, respect for each other's interests, and, of course, the close personal and cultural ties that have brought our nations together for centuries now.
During our talks today – and actually yesterday too since they began yesterday – I want to express my gratitude for the warm, almost familial atmosphere created for our meetings and joint work. Today, we have continued our business discussions in the same positive environment. During our talks, we addressed a broad spectrum of bilateral issues in a thorough and professional manner.
The Joint Statement we adopted outlines ambitious goals for advancing our bilateral relations dynamically. Additionally, the documents signed today will support the achievement of these goals.
During the talks, we paid great attention to stepping up mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation, which is natural, because Russia and Azerbaijan are important economic partners for each other. As I said at the beginning of our meeting today, trade has exceeded US$4 billion and is steadily growing, adding 17 percent in the first six months of this year. Furthermore, over US$4 billion has been directly invested in the Azerbaijani economy. The presence of nearly 1,300 enterprises [with Russian participation] in the Azerbaijani market indicates positive development and a promising outlook.
The President of Azerbaijan has just spoken about the areas in which we are working. Each of them has strategic importance for us.
The key economic cooperation issues are constantly monitored by our colleagues on the intergovernmental commission. Its latest meeting, held in Baku ahead of our visit, was highly productive.
As I have mentioned, Russia is among the largest investors [in the Azerbaijani economy], and we are very pleased with this.
Russian companies feel quite comfortable operating in the Azerbaijani market. Companies such as LUKOIL and KAMAZ, which have set up assembly production, have already been mentioned. Sollers and UAZ vehicles are being produced. These endeavours have been successful and offer further opportunities for development. We appreciate the efforts of Azerbaijani authorities to create favourable conditions for their work.
In February, Transmashholding signed another contract to produce a large batch of Russian cars for the Baku metro. I hope that those who will use these trains will also be satisfied.
As President Aliyev also mentioned, Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation, together with the Baku Shipyard, is launching the construction of modern river-sea class tankers for the transportation of petroleum products. Their use, including along the Azov-Black Sea and Caspian routes, will significantly increase the supply of energy resources to global markets.
I would like to especially note our joint plans regarding the implementation of the North-South project. This will allow us to reach the shores of the Indian Ocean and use these routes for mutual benefit and mutual interest.
Cultural ties are actively expanding. In June, Azerbaijan successfully hosted Days of Russian Culture, featuring exhibitions, concerts, theatrical performances, and other vibrant cultural events.
As per tradition, we would like to invite our Azerbaijani friends to take part in the 10th St Petersburg International Cultural Forum this September.
The Russian language is used widely and freely in Azerbaijan. We can feel that this trend is consistently supported by the leadership of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Mr President, thank you for this attention to the Russian language. There are more than 300 schools providing instruction in Russian in the country, and branches of Moscow State University and Sechenov Moscow Medical University have been opened.
We have just discussed the initiative to establish a Russian-Azerbaijani university in Baku during the expanded-format meeting. The President of Azerbaijan has supported this idea. I hope that we will implement it fairly quickly. St Petersburg State University is ready to join this project from our part.
Russia is also doing a lot to train highly qualified personnel for Azerbaijan. Today, about 8,000 young Azerbaijanis are studying at Russian universities, including more than a thousand at the expense of the Russian federal budget.
Our countries honour the feat that the Soviet people accomplished during the Great Patriotic War. The people of Russia and Azerbaijan remember how our fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers defended our common Motherland together and made a decisive contribution to saving the world from Nazism. President Aliyev and I agreed to celebrate the upcoming 80th anniversary of our common Great Victory on a grand scale.
As I said, a number of issues on the regional agenda were also considered during the talks, certainly taking into account the role that Azerbaijan plays in the Caspian region and in Transcaucasia.
We also touched upon current international developments. In foreign policy, both our countries firmly adhere to the principles of the supremacy of international law, the sovereignty of states and non-interference in their internal affairs.
Russia and Azerbaijan closely coordinate their efforts at key multilateral platforms, including the United Nations and naturally, the Commonwealth of Independent States. We will be delighted to see the President of Azerbaijan at the meeting of the CIS Heads of State Council in Moscow in October, as well as at the outreach meeting to be held in the same month as part of the BRICS summit in Kazan.
We could not fail to discuss the current state of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. I would like to emphasise that Russia will continue to make utmost efforts towards the normalisation of Azerbaijani-Armenian interaction and the conclusion of a peace treaty based on the well-known trilateral agreements reached by the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia between 2020 and 2022.
We are also ready to assist in the delimitation and demarcation of the border, considering that we have the relevant documents dating back to the days of the Soviet Union, the unblocking of cross-border routes, and the establishment of humanitarian contacts.
We believe that lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus fully meet the fundamental interests of all nations in this region.
In conclusion, I would like to underscore once again that we are certainly satisfied with the results of the visit. I am sure that the talks held and the agreements reached today will serve to further strengthen the strategic partnership between Russia and Azerbaijan.
Thank you for your attention.