On November 8, Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, arrived in Uzbekistan to attend the 16th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization, the Press Office of the Azerbaijani President reported.

Meeting with the caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan

On November 9, Ilham Aliyev met in Tashkent with Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, the caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan.

President Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan favors justice, referring to the respective UN Security Council decisions on the Jammu and Kashmir issues.

The sides touched upon economic and trade relations between the two countries and the expansion of ties between business communities. They underlined the importance of the Intergovernmental Commission's activity and shared their views on cooperation related to energy and transport links. They noted that preferential trade relations would positively impact trade turnover between the two countries. The sides described as positive the steps undertaken towards cooperation in information and communication technologies and tourism and the opening of direct flights between the two countries’ cities, underlining that this would positively contribute to tourism cooperation and contacts among people. They highlighted the significance of continuing successful cooperation between the two countries within international organizations.

Meeting with President of Iran Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi

On the same day, the President of Azerbaijan met with Ibrahim Raisi, the President of Iran.

Ibrahim Raisi said, "We are also very happy that Karabakh returned to its ancient territory after many years. This is Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan was able to restore its territorial integrity. We hope that Karabakh will be rebuilt and restored. We, as before, in this plan, are ready to support you in the reconstruction of Karabakh and offer our services, including in the engineering and technical fields. Iranian companies are ready to help our dear friends from Azerbaijan in the reconstruction of Karabakh and the development of Azerbaijan in general."

The Iranian President added, "We observe that the situation in the fields of transport and transit is improving day by day. The transport business between our countries is increasing. This is the issue that both you and we are aiming at. Our projects meet the interests of both countries. It guarantees transport links between Azerbaijan, Iran, and Nakhchivan and eliminates concerns in this area."

Ilham Aliyev stated: "During the three years after the Second Karabakh War, Armenia refused to fulfill its obligations, namely to provide transportation from the main part of Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan, and continues to refuse. This is their choice, I think they made a big mistake. I am very glad that as a result of the joint work of the representatives of Iran and Azerbaijan, we have agreed on the route of the railway and road line along the southern bank of the Araz River. I am sure that this project will be implemented in a short time and will become another direction of the North-South Transport Corridor. That is, as a result. We will have two routes: one over the Astara River and the other through the Aghband territory. Both routes will serve to strengthen the brotherly relations between Iran and Azerbaijan and will also be accessible to our neighbors and other partner countries."

At the meeting, issues related to the construction of railway and highway bridges in the direction of Aghband over the Araz River and the construction of a corridor through the territory of Iran were discussed. At the same time, views were exchanged on increasing the railway infrastructure's transmission capacity on Azerbaijan's territory along the North-South Transport Corridor and implementing its construction synchronously with the Rasht-Astara railway.

Aliyev's speech at the Summit

On November 9, the 16th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization kicked off in Tashkent, the capital of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Ilham Aliyev noted, "In the last 20 years, more than 310 billion US dollars have been invested in Azerbaijan’s economy, around 200 billion US dollars of which being invested in the non-energy sector. This is an indicator of a good investment climate in our country."

He added, "We appreciate that Azerbaijan has been chosen as a host country for the ECO Clean Energy Center. Particular focus is placed on the development of the renewable energy sector in Azerbaijan. In addition to its rich oil and gas reserves, Azerbaijan also has 37 gigawatts of onshore wind and solar power and 157 gigawatts of wind energy potential in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. Shortly, Azerbaijan will also turn into a green and hydrogen energy exporter. The contracts and Memorandums of Understanding signed with the foreign investors - the leading green energy companies of the world, will enable Azerbaijan to produce renewable energy up to 10 gigawatts in the coming years."