BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 3. High-ranking
representatives of countries hostile to each other meet in
Azerbaijan within the framework of international events, President
Ilham Aliyev said during his speech at the 8th Congress of the New Azerbaijan Party
(YAP).
“As I have said, our steps regarding foreign policy are received
with great appreciation in the world. Our prestige is growing. We
are joining many new formats. Today, it would be difficult to find
a second country – though perhaps there is one – that builds such
multifaceted international relations as Azerbaijan, maintains
contact with many countries and, one could say, all major poles,
and defends its own interests. In any case, this is a unique
experience. It is enough to recall the events of just the past
month for everyone to see that high-ranking representatives of
countries hostile to each other meet in Azerbaijan within the
framework of international events. Meetings and events aimed at
reducing certain international risks are also held in
Azerbaijan.
Why is Azerbaijan chosen? First, because there is trust in us.
They know that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner. Second, many
countries have now joined various camps or wish to do so. We,
however, do not join any camp and will not join one – we do not
need to. For a country with a relatively small territory and
population, it is naturally not easy to establish itself as an
independent actor on the global stage and gain respect. There are
many reasons for this, and I would not want to elaborate too much
on that. Quite simply, among our future tasks, our foreign policy
needs to be not only active, but also proactive rather than
defensive. Of course, our country’s role in international
organizations is undeniable. Everyone remembers well that we led
the second-largest institution after the UN for four years, having
been elected by a unanimous decision. In November of last year, a
very significant event occurred: Azerbaijan was admitted as a full
member of the Consultative Meetings of Central Asia. We are not
located in Central Asia; we are located in the South Caucasus. But
look at how close Azerbaijan is to these countries and how vital
our political, economic, transport, energy, and other projects are
to them that this unprecedented event took place,” President Ilham
Aliyev noted.
The 8th Congress of the New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) was held
yesterday at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku.
A total of 960 delegates were elected by YAP’s district and city
organizations to attend the congress.
As part of preparations for the 8th Congress, reporting
conferences were held at 84 local party organizations from
September 7 to 19. A total of 16,239 people attended the
conferences.
The reporting conferences heard reports on work carried out to
fulfill the tasks set after the 7th Congress and discussed the
results achieved.
