Presidents of Azerbaijan and Germany made press statements

Baku, April 2, AZERTAC

Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, made press statements and responded to journalists’ questions.

The President of Azerbaijan made the statement first.

Statement by President Ilham Aliyev

- Dear Mr. President,

Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Mr. President, first of all, I would like to once again sincerely welcome you to Azerbaijan. I am pleased that there is a regular political dialogue between us. Last April, we met during my visit to Berlin, and I am delighted that you have accepted my invitation to come to Azerbaijan on an official visit.

Both during our one-on-one conversation and during the talks with delegations, the further development of German-Azerbaijani relations was discussed. I am absolutely convinced that this visit will give a positive impetus to our relations. The results achieved in the economic sphere are certainly reassuring for us. In January and February of this year, our trade turnover increased nearly threefold. The primary reason for this has been the increase in the volume of crude oil exported from Azerbaijan to Germany. Therefore, we believe that we should take more active steps in the coming years to diversify our trade, especially in the field of renewable energy, where German companies have extensive experience and Azerbaijan has a very large program and ambitious plans. We intend to increase the production of renewable energy to 6 gigawatts by 2030 through foreign investments, and this goal is quite realistic. Part of this volume will be exported to Europe.

As you may be aware, Azerbaijan hosted the COP29 international climate conference last year. We also had active cooperation with Germany in this direction. More than 77,000 participants representing 197 countries were registered at COP29. The conference was rich in successful results. The only country that did not participate was Armenia. This, of course, is regrettable, especially under the current circumstances. At a time when a process of normalization between Azerbaijan and Armenia is successfully underway, it was incomprehensible for the Armenian side to boycott this international conference. Today, this issue was also discussed, and Azerbaijan's position was communicated to the German side.

Azerbaijan’s lands were subjected to Armenian occupation for 30 years. Our people were subjected to ethnic cleansing. One million Azerbaijanis were left homeless due to Armenian aggression, and approximately twenty percent of our land was occupied. Unfortunately, international organizations did not take any tangible steps on this issue. Azerbaijan resolved this conflict itself and restored international law on the battlefield and at the political level. It was this historic victory that paved the way for peace negotiations. I believe that today, the positions of Azerbaijan and Armenia have come quite close to each other in achieving peace.

At the same time, other international issues were also discussed today, including the US-EU tensions, the tensions between Russia and the West. All these issues are naturally affecting the whole world, and it was quite important for me to have such a sincere exchange of views.

I want to say again that I am confident that this visit will have positive results. This is the first official visit of the President of Germany to Azerbaijan in the history of our bilateral relations. I am confident that the outcomes of the visit will bring our countries even closer together.

Welcome once again!

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Then, the President of Germany made the statement.

Statement by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier

- My dear colleague, Mr. President, on behalf of the entire German delegation I would like to thank you very much for this sincere invitation and for your hospitality. We are enjoying ourselves very much here. You have mentioned that this is not my first time in Azerbaijan, but it is my first time in the current capacity. This is my first visit as President. I have been to Azerbaijan many times before, but I was last here in 2016, so nine years have passed. The situation in the world is changing so quickly these days. So many geopolitical changes have occurred in nine years that my visit here in 2016 seems like a long time ago. That is why I am glad to be here, to meet again and to be able to have a very broad exchange of views. We have always had such exchanges. Perhaps not in Baku, but we have met in other places and talked on the phone. We also met at the Munich Security Conference, and I also remember your visit to Berlin perfectly well. We had discussions at the meeting last year, and I am glad that I am now visiting your country in return for your visit.

Mr. President, we have talked about the history of relations between our countries. We can recall the first settlement of Swabian peasants here in Azerbaijan and the creation of winemaking traditions. They participated in the development of agriculture. Of course, they also played a significant role in industrialization. German organizations and large companies participated in the development of this industry, in copper mining and in the construction of an electricity grid. Many Germans have lived in Azerbaijan. Therefore, let me remind you that it is important to know the long history of our relations, the fact that the relations between Germany and Azerbaijan have existed for a long time. I am very glad that there is a great interest in Azerbaijan in the German language and in education in Germany. Azerbaijani youth are very interested in studying in Germany, and I do believe that we should expand our relations precisely in the field of scientific cooperation.

I am also very pleased with this exchange. I am glad that we have always been able to speak openly with each other. We have been able to speak openly both about issues where we have common views and about those we have different positions on. In our extensive conversations, both sides have been able to speak openly with each other and have a sincere conversation. We are living in a world where dramatic changes are taking place very quickly. Mr. President has already said what brings our countries closer together. What brings us together is that we are interested in preserving international law and order, in developing the world based on rules, and we do not want to leave a world without rules for future generations.

We have also discussed strategic issues. We have discussed prospects for economic cooperation between us. You have already said this and mentioned several aspects suggesting that Azerbaijan also had a great role for Germany in 2022. When the gas supply we usually received from Russia started to be disrupted, Azerbaijan took on a lot of responsibility, and I am very grateful for that. This is why I understood from your words that, in addition to gas, there is a need to expand the infrastructure here. This is why we need to work on improving the infrastructure. It is not yet sufficient. This is why we have homework after these meetings.

I am very glad that Azerbaijan is developing and becoming a place through which very important trade routes pass. This can lead to the unification of the world. We have talked about our economic and trade relations. Your country is playing a role in our trade relations not only with Central Asia, but also with the Far East, with Southwest Asia, with China. We know that the possibilities of existing roads are currently limited. The role of the roads passing through your country, the Middle Corridor, is also important for the German economy. It is a good prospect and will become an even more interesting prospect in the future. Your region, the South Caucasus, will become a more stable region in contrast to the developments of recent years. Mr. President, I would like to express my opinion on another issue you have touched upon. You spoke about the peace process between Azerbaijan and neighboring Armenia. This peace process is of tremendous importance. As someone observing this from the outside, I can say that it is very impressive. Major steps have been taken and major progress has been made over the past year. I congratulate both sides on this. There is already understanding between you. A statement issued on March 13 said that the text of the peace agreement had been agreed upon. When I spoke about the agreement this morning, I told Mr. President that I hoped that an important moment had been reached with this agreement. Since such an agreement has already been reached, I do hope that this situation will be maintained and you will take advantage of it, leading to the signing of a peace agreement and the establishment of lasting peace in your region. I have great hopes for that and urge you not to miss this opportunity. Despite all the difficulties and obstacles, this road has been covered, many steps have been taken, and it is necessary to move forward to the very end. Therefore, courage and political will are needed for a compromise so that this political agreement can be truly implemented and entered into force. I do hope that this will be achieved, and we will support it as much as we can from the distance. Thank you very much.

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Afterwards, the journalists' questions were answered.