President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev pursues a very active foreign policy. His visit to the Far East countries looks natural in this context. The Head of State achieved very important results in the talks held in Hanoi and Shanghai. The Head of State touched upon a number of strategically important issues in his remarks made at the 4th summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia. The analysis of these remarks once more proves the enhanced role Azerbaijan plays in geopolitics.
Asia – one of the priorities of the foreign policy
Asia is a priority direction of the foreign policy of Azerbaijan. Heydar Aliyev always paid a serious attention to it. Many did not apprehend properly the importance of his China visit in 1994 at the time when pro-western trends were extremely prevailing. However, historical developments reaffirmed national leader`s foresight on this matter. Now, the world`s most top-ranking politicians, analysts and experts speak about rapid increase of geopolitical importance of the Asian continent. It is not a secret that the great powers began to pay a more serous attention to this factor in their foreign policy.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev`s Vietnam-China tour is regarded in this aspect as a logical manifestation of the natural, normal and well-grounded foreign policy. The Head of State made this visit sticking to the long-time and consistent foreign policy rather than geospatial reasons that are clear to everyone today. The results achieved once more showed that official Baku pursues an effective and independent policy.
President Ilham Aliyev first held talks in Vietnam. Azerbaijan and Vietnam have special history of relations. Thousands of Vietnamese studied in Baku. Heydar Aliyev made a trip to Vietnam as one of the leaders of the USSR. At the present stage, relationship is based on the principle of equal partnership between the two independent nations. The emphasis is placed more on cooperation in trade, science, technology, education, energy and other fields. The trade turnover between the two countries currently amounts to USD 500 million. The parties are scheduled to increase it. It is not a coincidence that President Ilham Aliyev underlined in his speech in Vietnam, ”I am sure that this visit will mark an important milestone in development of our relations and give a strong impetus to our relations in political, economic and humanitarian fields.”
It is necessary to note that there are reasons for choosing Vietnam as the first destination of the Far East visit. The point is that Azerbaijan always pursues a balanced policy. The country is interested to the same degree in every country in the Asia-Pacific basin. If there are any problems between China and Vietnam, it is a internal affair of these countries. For this reason, Baku cultivates relations with both countries. This approach is very effective and fair in the geopolitical aspect. Baku demonstrates the example of political culture in this context.
The talks held with China and results achieved totally prove that these ideas are right. The spirit of the meetings is reflected in the Azerbaijani President’s thought. Ilham Aliyev said, ”We are committed to the policy of cooperation with the People’s Republic of China in all directions.” Along with other aspects, Azerbaijan’s commitment to the multifaceted foreign policy was highlighted in particular. The country attaches serious importance to all-round cooperation with the Asian countries as much as with the Western ones. This aspect is closely linked with a factor of principled geopolitical importance.
The point is that Azerbaijan is the country, which is capable of playing a role of a bridge, in a broad sense of a word, between East and West. The leadership of the country proves this with every step it takes. The strategic goal of Azerbaijan is to play a uniting role in the political, economic, energy, military, cultural programmes it is involved in.
Interaction and trust: Azerbaijan’s contributions
In this context, President Ilham Aliyev underlined in his remarks at the 4th summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, ”Various international projects in which Azerbaijan acts as a participant and initiator today have already laid a solid foundation for greater regional cooperation. In particular, I want to point to projects related to energy security. By completely redrawing the energy map of the South Caucasus and the broader region, these projects have become a very important example of cooperation benefiting all participants.”
In addition, the Head of State stressed that Azerbaijan has ”turned into the transit country connecting Asia and Europe”, ”contributed to restoration of the Silk Road” and highlighted the “transit optic lines that pass through Azerbaijan and connect Europe with Asia – these are our country’s contributions to information security.” These are strategically important factors in the geopolitical aspect. The point is that no country except for Azerbaijan is able to play this role in Caucasus and the Central Asia. The reasons for that are seen in the above-mentioned words of President Ilham Aliyev.
Azerbaijan is an active participant and initiator of some elements of the programs uniting Europe and Asia on all fields that play a strategic role for modern society. Azerbaijan is a party to all the projects that are currently in place. It is pleasing that Azerbaijan is among top initiators and sponsors of such programs. Which is the second country in the South Caucasus and Central Asia, which can ”shoulder this burden”? There is none! Only those who are unaware of the developments in the world can deny this fact. For this reason, President Ilham Aliyev`s tour of Vietnam and China and his world-class proposals on the topical aspects of the global security in Shanghai look pretty much natural. Baku has its own say at international events that everyone must pay attention to. In this regard, Azerbaijan’s involvement in interaction and confidence building matters in Asia is a positive thing. This is because Azerbaijan feels distrust, double standards, unfair attitude. There are no serious international efforts to stop Armenia’s aggression. Azerbaijan is totally satisfied with the paragraphs 1.3, 1.4, 2.4, 2.6, 2.7 and 3.5 of the declaration adopted at the 4th summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia.
Azerbaijan has pursued in its foreign policy for many years the principles reflected in the paragraph 1.3 of the declaration ”no State will strengthen its security at the expense of security of other States. Bearing in mind the UN Security Council’s primary responsibility under the UN Charter for maintenance of international peace and security, we emphasize that no State, group of States or organization can have pre-eminent responsibility for maintaining peace and stability,” as well as the paragraph 1.4 ”In accordance with the UN Charter and international law, we reaffirm to respect each other’s sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders; to refrain in our international relations from the threat or use of force against territorial integrity or political independence of any state in any manner inconsistent with the principles and purposes of the UN Charter; to uphold resolution of disputes by peaceful means; not to interfere in the internal affairs of States; not to adopt or support actions that aim at overthrowing legitimate governments… We also renounce application of double standards in international affairs.” Justice can be delayed, but can never be denied. Injustice against our country is not only acknowledged but also made the states work together in order to escape this. The Shanghai summit is seen as another ”milestone” of this process. The struggle continues.
Kaynak: Newtimes.az
