Azerbaijan-malaysia Relations Developing Successfully, Says Ambassador

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 (Bernama) --  Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Malaysia Irfan Davudov said that the relations between Azerbaijan and Malaysia are developing successfully.

In this context, Davudov said he hoped that in the near future, the two countries would observe significant growth in their relations across economic, humanitarian, educational, and other fields, including renewable energy, tourism, and investments.

“As an embassy, we believe that our relations in all these areas should correspond to the level of our fraternal political relations, and we should not spare our efforts for this,” he said in his speech at the 106th anniversary of Republic of Azerbaijan’s Independence Day celebration on Tuesday.

The guest of honour was Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran.

Recalling the history of his country, the ambassador said that 106 years ago, on May 28, 1918, the National Council of Azerbaijan signed the Declaration of Independence, continuing the centuries-old statehood traditions of its people and announcing the independence of Azerbaijan and the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.

Davudov said although the Democratic Republic did not last long, it managed to achieve a lot in 23 months, and had a significant impact on the formation of democratic traditions in the whole Muslim East.

In 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan regained independence. On October 18, 1991, it was declared that the Republic of Azerbaijan was the successor of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.

The ambassador said that despite the great challenges the country faced in the first years of independence, such as economic collapse, foreign aggression, and occupation, in 1993 Azerbaijan embarked on a path of development, ensured stability, and began to move forward confidently.

Today, he said, Azerbaijan is governed by the strategic development directions set by the National Leader of the Azerbaijani people, former president Heydar Aliyev, and the government pursues a confident policy in accordance with the changing geopolitical situation in the region and the world.

By pursuing an independent policy, at the present time, our country has taken major steps to secure national interests and achieved tremendous success, Davudov said.

“We can celebrate Independence Day with feelings of pride and happiness as a victorious nation that has restored its territorial integrity. The blessed path of Azerbaijan started with the 44-Days Patriotic War in 2020 and was completed with the anti-terrorist operations in September 2023, and Azerbaijan has fully restored its sovereignty within the internationally recognised state borders,” the ambassador further said.

According to Davudov, Azerbaijan has created a historical opportunity for the establishment of peace, security, and cooperation in the South Caucasus region and the country is getting closer to a peace agreement with Armenia as the result of the government’s determination and visionary policies.

In his speech, he also pointed out that as a responsible member of the international relations system, Azerbaijan was trying to play a more active role in the global arena, within the framework of international organisations, and to contribute to the safer and more comprehensive development of humanity.

“Today, Azerbaijan and its capital, Baku, are known for organising important international events. UN Security Council membership (non-permanent member of the UNSC for 2012-2013), chairmanship of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) (2019-2023), as well as organising European Games, Islamic Solidarity Games, World Humanitarian Forums, World Forums on Intercultural Dialogue, are only some successful examples,” he said

“The historical Azerbaijani city Shusha, the cultural capital of Azerbaijan, has been declared as the Cultural Capital of the Islamic World and Youth Capital of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation for 2024. The mini-football world championship in 2025, and the the 13th World Urban Forum in 2026 will also to be held in Baku,” he noted.

Davudov said that as 2024 marks the 'Year of Solidarity for a Green World' in Azerbaijan, the country is honoured to be chosen to host the UN Conference on Climate Change - COP29 this year. He added that hosting and presiding over COP29 recognises Azerbaijan’s endeavours in addressing climate change not only at the national level but also on a regional and global scale.

 “As the head of our state President Ilham Aliyev noted in his address to the participants of the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States held in Antigua and Barbuda in May 2024, “The slogan we have chosen for COP29 in Baku - Solidarity for a Green World, reflects the spirit of our COP29 mission. As we face this situation together, we call on all countries to act in solidarity to save our planet. To achieve this goal, we need political will and a multilateral approach, which Azerbaijan has always advocated”, Davudov said.

-- BERNAMA