Azerbaijan acts as a strategic bridge between Central Asia and Europe – Mirziyoyev

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Why the world needs Central Asia: Insights from the “Central Asia – European Union” Summit

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Azerbaijan is serving as a strategic bridge connecting Central Asia and Europe. This was stated by the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in his address to participants of the high-level meeting on the theme “Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Europe: Cooperation for Common Development.”

President Mirziyoyev noted that relations with Europe, whose representatives are taking part in the forum, are entering a new stage of development.

“Recently, we held the first Central Asia–European Union summit in our country. A historic decision was made to establish a strategic partnership between the countries of our region and the European Union. In the coming months, we will sign an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the European Union.

We will continue to work with the European Union and other partners to develop effective transport, logistics, and energy corridors. We are confident that these measures will allow our region to restore its role as a hub between the West and the East,” the President said.

Mirziyoyev also expressed his high appreciation for the readiness of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, to participate in the development of new pan-regional processes and his efforts to strengthen cooperation between the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

“We take this opportunity to once again sincerely congratulate the friendly people of Azerbaijan on a great historical achievement – the recent signing of the trilateral Joint Declaration with Armenia in Washington under the mediation of the United States,” said the Uzbek leader.

The President noted that Uzbekistan and the Central Asian region offer the international community an invaluable asset – stability, trust, and development – in these difficult times.

“I believe that in today's new conditions, broad horizons for cooperation are opening up before us, new opportunities are emerging for joint work on issues of mutual interest and benefit to both sides. We hope for your support and future cooperation in this regard,” said Mirziyoyev.

The President also expressed his belief that issues of interconnection between Central Asia and the South Caucasus, along with the prospects for cooperation between these two regions with Europe, are the main topics of today's conference. He emphasized that this is a unique opportunity to further introduce Central Asia, where processes of mutual understanding and cooperation are accelerating, to the world, to strengthen interregional ties, and to exchange views on the full use of the potential of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.

It should be noted that in recent years, Uzbekistan's relations with Azerbaijan have been actively developing in the spirit of mutual trust and support. An agreement on alliance relations has been signed, and the Supreme Interstate Council is functioning.