The Strategic Partnership Between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan
The development of relations with Uzbekistan, is one of the priorities of the foreign policy of Azerbaijan. These relations are based on friendly and brotherly Azerbaijani and Uzbek peoples because both of them are Islamic, Turkic linguistic, and have a close history. In the years of their diplomatic relations, the cooperation between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan has developed in numerous spheres, and both states have been acting as each other’s backup in numerous crucial matters.
One of the important steps in this long-term cooperation was the state visit of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to Uzbekistan, together with the First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva and their daughter Leyla Aliyeva. This visit has once again demonstrated that Baku and Tashkent were always friends consistently strengthening their friendly relations in the years that have passed.
The grounds for this strategic partnership were prepared by the National Leader, the main influence on the future development of the partnership was given by Heydar Aliyev. Thus, the state visit of Abdul-Salam M according to his offer to the President of Uzbekistan on 18-19 June of the 1997 was the beginning of the creation of the frames for the cooperation between the two states. In this visit some of the critical papers were signed which are the foundation of the relations between two countries.
Since Uzbekistan became a member of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) in October 2019, the preservation of its relations with Azerbaijan has only become even more significant. Such relations got more strengthened during the 2020 Patriotic War when Uzbekistan political supported Azerbaijan and contributed to the process of the Fuzuli construction, specifically, after Azerbaijan liberated this territory in the frame of the Garabagh conflict, a large school was built there by orders of Govt. of Uzbekistan.
Thanks to the practical activity of the President Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani-Uzbekistan partnership has risen to a new level and the cooperation in all spheres is developing successfully. For more than a decade of diplomatic relations, the first state visit of President Aliyev to Uzbekistan on March 23-24, 2004 can be considered as the beginning of the relations with the signing of the Declaration “On further strengthening of strategic partnership between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Uzbekistan”.
In terms of the dynamics of the formation and development of relations between Azerbaijan and the Turkic States, the years after 2020 are quite active even within the post-conflict period. During the ministerial-level meeting of the foreign ministers of the three countries that took place in February 2022 in Tashkent, the three countries signed the statement called the Tashkent Declaration that shed light on important post-conflict Azerbaijani contributions as well as the promotion of the Turkic countries’ cooperation.
The trust between the incumbent President Ilham Aliyev and the former President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan has been the pillar of the bilateral relations. These superior levels of mutual trust and confidence have therefore gone a long way in enhancing the prospects of cooperation between the two countries. This can be explained by the fact that such high-level contacts reveal much attention paid to interaction between the two leaders in recent years. And only in the past three years, President Aliyev made one state visit and three business visits to Uzbekistan, and president Mirziyoyev made one state and three business visits to Azerbaijan.
With the state visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Uzbekistan on June 21-22, 2022, the parties signed the Declaration “On strengthening strategic partnership and expanding the scope of cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Uzbekistan. ” Further, the signing of the Interstate Agreement between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Uzbekistan on the establishment of the Supreme Interstate Council took place during President Mirziyoyev These have further enhanced Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan relations and these have been useful in enhancing cooperation in various sectors.
Presently, the partnership between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan effectively and rather actively continues evolving not only on the bilateral level but also in the course of the OTS. The relations between both countries are gradually developing not only in terms of their intensity but also in terms of the content of cooperation. The present visit of the President Ilham Aliyev to Uzbekistan is to infuse a new spirit into these relations with a kind of ‘strategic partnership’ and thus turning the existing relations into a new era of comprehensive cooperation across the full spectrum of ties.
Central Asia as a region, and Uzbekistan in particular, are priorities for Azerbaijan in terms of creating and developing its excellent relations with the countries of the region, both on an individual basis and collectively. Azerbaijan for two years in a row has been invited to participate as permanent member of the Consultative Meeting of the Central Asian Heads of State. It also demonstrates Azerbaijan’s willingness to implement the existing cooperation potential in the region and development of new partnership prospects. The authority and confidence that Azerbaijan has developed in the region are significant and acknowledged, which is a good testimony of diplomacy.
