By Tehran Tapdigov, Baku, Azerbaijan *
On August 22-23, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, his wife Mehriban Aliyeva and their daughter Leyla Aliyeva visited Uzbekistan. Aliyev, who was officially welcomed by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, participated in many official events in Uzbekistan. The leaders of the two countries signed documents in various fields.
The main point of attention was the signing of the “Agreement on alliance relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Uzbekistan” by President Ilham Aliyev and Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have officially become allied countries.
Another important issue will be Azerbaijan’s investment of more than 500 million US dollars in the construction sector of Uzbekistan.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on October 2, 1995. Currently, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan have taken their relations further for the first time in history. The relations in question indicate not only the further development of relations between the two countries, but also the development of relations in the direction of the Turkic world. Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan are also connected by historical roots. One of the important conditions for the unification of the Anointed Turkic World is that the Turkic countries have a strong economy.
Azerbaijan’s complete restoration of its territorial integrity after the Second Karabakh War completely changed the landscape of the South Caucasus. The fact that our lands were under Armenian occupation for 30 years made the economic and political life of the South Caucasus almost like a prison. However, current realities have made Azerbaijan the strongest country in the South Caucasus.
Having signed many new projects, the main goal of Azerbaijan is to become a strong country in the new world order. In this regard, cooperation with Central Asian countries is a priority. The fact that the Central Asian countries consist mainly of Turkic peoples is also important from the point of view of the development of the geography of the Turkic world in general. For this reason, it is no coincidence that the leader of Azerbaijan wants to implement his new projects with Central Asian countries.
Uzbekistan’s geographic location, natural resources, and being on the Silk Road are important points for Azerbaijan. The joint implementation of new economic projects based on historical foundations is the biggest investment in the future. Especially when we interpret the relations in terms of the North-South and East-West corridors, it is possible to see that all the countries that will cooperate will gain.
In order to reduce dependence on the West and the European Union, all Turkic states should establish alliance relations. One of the main actors of the changing and renewing world order will be the Turk Union, for which there is a serious need for the Turkic states to step together both economically and politically.
For this reason, Aliyev’s visit to Uzbekistan is not only a topic that connects the relations between the two countries, but also the entire Turkic world.
* Political commentator, journalist