Ilham Aliyev gave an interview to the Chinese agency Xinhua

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev gave an exclusive interview to the Chinese news agency Xinhua.

AZERTAG presents the interview:

-Dear Mr. President, we remember that in July last year at the 24th SCO Summit in Astana, you and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a Joint Declaration on the establishment of a strategic partnership, in which you jointly announced the establishment of a strategic partnership based on the principles of mutual respect, equal trust, mutual support and cooperation. This is an important milestone in the history of relations between the two countries. In your opinion, what important results have been achieved in the development of relations between China and Azerbaijan, and how do you assess this?

-You are right, on July 3 last year, within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit held in Astana, the "Joint Declaration on the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the People's Republic of China" was adopted. The Declaration specifically noted that since the establishment of diplomatic relations on April 2, 1992, our bilateral cooperation has brought many fruitful results. At the same time, we agreed to further expand this cooperation, strengthen interaction in international affairs, jointly protect the common interests of the two countries, and jointly promote the cause of regional and global peace, stability and development.

We jointly declared that our strategic partnership will be built on such fundamental principles of bilateral relations as mutual respect, equality, trust, mutual support, mutual benefit and cooperation. In the joint declaration, we also confirmed that we are priority and reliable partners who treat each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity with due respect, pursue independent foreign policies based on the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and peaceful coexistence.

I believe that our meeting in Astana and the joint declaration adopted as a result of it are a historic event and open a new page in Azerbaijani-Chinese relations. Speaking during a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, I noted that the adopted Declaration officially transforms the PRC and Azerbaijan into strategic partners, and this is a great achievement and a great responsibility. During our meeting in Astana, I was invited to visit China on a state visit, and I accepted this invitation with satisfaction. I also invited the Chairman of the PRC to visit our country at a time convenient for him. I am convinced that such an exchange of high-level visits will give additional impetus to the process of deepening our interstate relations.

We attach special importance to the development of cooperation between our countries in all areas of mutual interest, and consider the deepening of bilateral relations as one of the important directions of Azerbaijan's foreign policy. Today, we can confidently say that our relations have a very positive dynamic. In 2024, high-ranking members of the government and parliament, heads of ministries and departments, the prosecutor general's office, as well as officials of the Presidential Administration and the central apparatus of the "Yeni Azerbaijan" party visited China.

Last year, Azerbaijan was visited by the Deputy Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the Chairman of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. A significant event was the participation of the Deputy Prime Minister of the PRC in the work of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change - COP29. The event was attended by representatives of 196 states, more than 150 international organizations and UN structures, as well as almost 2,000 NGOs. The most important decisions taken within the framework of COP29 are the provision of climate financing to developing countries, the implementation of the Loss and Damage Fund, and the full implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

As part of the COP29 chairmanship, Azerbaijan has put forward 14 global initiatives covering the link between climate action and sustainable development goals, which have already received broad international support. The agreements reached, supported initiatives and decisions made are of exceptional importance for the future of humanity and the global climate agenda.