BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 3. High-ranking representatives of countries hostile to each other meet in Azerbaijan within the framework of international events, President Ilham Aliyev said during his speech at the 8th Congress of the New Azerbaijan Party (YAP).
"As I have said, our steps regarding foreign policy are received with great appreciation in the world. Our prestige is growing. We are joining many new formats. Today, it would be difficult to find a second country – though perhaps there is one – that builds such multifaceted international relations as Azerbaijan, maintains contact with many countries and, one could say, all major poles, and defends its own interests. In any case, this is a unique experience. It is enough to recall the events of just the past month for everyone to see that high-ranking representatives of countries hostile to each other meet in Azerbaijan within the framework of international events. Meetings and events aimed at reducing certain international risks are also held in Azerbaijan.
Why is Azerbaijan chosen? First, because there is trust in us. They know that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner. Second, many countries have now joined various camps or wish to do so. We, however, do not join any camp and will not join one – we do not need to. For a country with a relatively small territory and population, it is naturally not easy to establish itself as an independent actor on the global stage and gain respect. There are many reasons for this, and I would not want to elaborate too much on that. Quite simply, among our future tasks, our foreign policy needs to be not only active, but also proactive rather than defensive. Of course, our country's role in international organizations is undeniable. Everyone remembers well that we led the second-largest institution after the UN for four years, having been elected by a unanimous decision. In November of last year, a very significant event occurred: Azerbaijan was admitted as a full member of the Consultative Meetings of Central Asia. We are not located in Central Asia; we are located in the South Caucasus. But look at how close Azerbaijan is to these countries and how vital our political, economic, transport, energy, and other projects are to them that this unprecedented event took place," President Ilham Aliyev noted.
The 8th Congress of the New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) was held yesterday at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku.
A total of 960 delegates were elected by YAP's district and city organizations to attend the congress.
As part of preparations for the 8th Congress, reporting conferences were held at 84 local party organizations from September 7 to 19. A total of 16,239 people attended the conferences.
The reporting conferences heard reports on work carried out to fulfill the tasks set after the 7th Congress and discussed the results achieved.
