An international conference ‘The Role of Heydar Aliyev in Achieving Strategic Partnership in the Azerbaijan-Georgia Relations’ was held  to mark the  Azerbaijani people’s National Leader Heydar Aliyev Memorial Day on 11 December.

The event held upon the initiative of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Georgia brought together the Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister of our country Khalaf Khalafov, the Head of the Milli Majlis working group for the Azerbaijan-Georgia interparliamentary contacts Arzu Naghiyev and the Group Member Amina Agazade, the Leader of the Milli Majlis delegation to the GUAM PA Elnur Allahverdiyev, Georgia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Lasha Darsalia, the Georgian Parliament’s Vice Speaker and Leader of the working group for the Georgia-Azerbaijan interparliamentary contacts and of the Georgian delegation to the GUAM PA alike Kakha Kuchava, the ambassadors of both countries Faig Guliyev and Zurab Pataradze and other officials.

Azerbaijan’s Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Georgia Faig Guliyev who opened the videoconference said that though the diplomatic relations were formally established between Azerbaijan and Georgia in 1992, they truly began practical growth in 1993 when the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev returned to power upon the insistence of the nation. The Georgian embassy in Baku became active in February 1995 and the Azerbaijani one in Tbilisi was started in March 1996. Besides, the parliaments of both countries have the interparliamentary friendship groups in action.

Further, Mr Guliyev recalled how the National Leader Heydar Aliyev had always paid special attention to the relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia, and never ommitted to extend the brotherly helping hand when Georgia went through hard times. It was thanks to the political will and resolve of Heydar Aliyev that, when the Contract of the Century was about to be signed in 1994, it was decided in spite of all the difficulties and all the pressure applied from outside that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline would cross the friendly territory of Georgia. Now, meanwhile, President Ilham Aliyev is pursuing the political course of the National Leader successfully. The energy projects undertaken and implemented under the guidance and at the suggestion of our Head of State play an immense role in the development of not only Azerbaijan but of the whole region.

The leader of the Milli Majlis working group for the Azerbaijan-Georgia interparliamentary contacts Arzu Naghiyev who spoke next emphasised the liberation of our occupied lands having been the biggest dream of the Great Leader who had worked towards this goal with all his might. The ceasefire treaty signed in 1994 was one of his biggest achievements.

The reforms and development that President Ilham Aliyev is furthering in the country currently, the efficient military strategy afoot, the political bonds and the significant regional and international projects had brought about the reconquest of our formerly-occupied lands. Azerbaijan proved it was capable of protecting the integrity of its own territory with the Patriotic War having come as a clear proof of that. The purposeful and systematic efforts made in the battlefields, the diplomatic arena, the information space and on the domestic political stage had won us such kind of victory that it is being discussed and analysed in all the countries of the world and in all the political hubs. The MP thanked Georgia for its moral support to Azerbaijan shown during the Patriotic War.

 Then spoke Kakha Kuchava, the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament and head of the working group for the Georgia-Azerbaijan interparliamentary contacts. Mr Kuchava talked of Heydar Aliyev’s role in the progress of the relations between Georgia and Azerbaijan, the bilateral strategic partnership and the fruitful co-operation between the governments and parliaments of the two countries. In his opinion, such relations are of a perpetual strategic importance to both sides whilst stemming from their national interests.

Then, the leader of the Azerbaijani delegation to the GUAM PA Elnur Allahverdiyev and Amina Agayeva of the Milli Majlis working group for the Azerbaijan-Georgia interparliamentary contacts shared their opinions. Both MPs referred to the the friendship between the Georgian and Azerbaijani peoples being rooted in history. They added that the outstanding statesman Heydar Aliyev had ridden our country of a civil war after the independence had been gained and achieved a ceasefire with Armenia before setting about building a powerful army, initiating an oil strategy that is being furthered continued by Azerbaijan successfully today and building the foundation of our efficient foreign politics. Besides, the recent restoration of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, too, is an undeniable evidence of the President and victorious Commander-in-Chief of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev continuing the policy of Heydar Aliyev with success.

With that, the international conference ’The Role of Heydar Aliyev in Achieving Strategic Partnership in the Azerbaijan-Georgia Relations’ was over.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis