President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev has hosted an official dinner reception in honor of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.
The heads of state made statements at the reception.
Touching upon good neighborly relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, President Nursultan Nazarbayev said our countries have common historical roots and are united by the Caspian Sea with its unique natural resources. He stressed that yet another visit by President Ilham Aliyev to Kazakhstan proves again that cooperation between the two countries is based on sound and friendly relations.
Recalling that in the years of Stalinist repression a portion of the Azerbaijani population was resettled to Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev said:
Just in one day in May 1937, a total of 600 Azerbaijani families were resettled to Taldykorgan region of Kazakhstan under police escort. Our people treated all innocent victims of lawlessness with sympathy, shared shelter and bread with them.
Azerbaijanis built Kazakhstan, new enterprises and developed the country hand in hand with the Kazakh people. Many of them stayed to live here. As I said, we have a 130,000-strong Azerbaijani Diaspora. They are citizens of Kazakhstan, one of the brightest parts of our country’s multi-color palette.
Speaking about the successes of Azerbaijan, which has just celebrated the 20th anniversary of its independence, Kazakhstan's President said:
- Dear friends!
On 18 October, fraternal Azerbaijan marked the 20th anniversary of its independence. It has been a difficult time. We all know that. And despite the difficulties Azerbaijan has experienced, the country has developed at a rate that has taken it to leading positions among post-Soviet republics – both in terms of the rate of economic development and the well-being of people. A modern, dynamically developing state with all the attributes has been created. This state has become known in the world. Your country is confidently moving towards prosperity. We are sincerely happy about that. Azerbaijan’s great progress and the Kazakh-Azerbaijani cooperation have been facilitated by the nationwide leader of your country, Heydar Aliyev. I had the pleasure of being in very close relations with him, cooperated with him, knew this very wise, kind and visionary man.
For Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan is a good friend, a reliable business partner, a neighbor. We are confident of the future of our cooperation and the future development of our countries. I am sure that the outcome of our talks in Almaty, our exchange of views on all matters of domestic policy, economy, foreign policy, regional cooperation, etc. will strengthen the friendship and mutual understanding between our two countries.
Dear friends! The well-known Azerbaijani proverb says, From heart to heart is the shortest way. I think this is how our relations should be built: on the basis of common roots, history, common understanding of strategic interests of both our countries. We will talk about this at the Turkic Council due tomorrow.
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Addressing the official dinner reception, President Ilham Aliyev said:
- Dear Nursultan Abishevich! First of all, I want to thank you for your kind words about our country and for the invitation to pay an official visit to fraternal Kazakhstan again. I am always happy to visit your country. It so happens that I come to Kazakhstan almost every year I have been President of Azerbaijan – either to Astana or Almaty.
The President of Azerbaijan touched upon the results of the work carried out in Kazakhstan in the years of independence, the reforms aimed at developing the country, strengthening its economic potential and improving the social conditions of the population. President Ilham Aliyev pointed to the growing international authority of friendly Kazakhstan, which resulted in the country’s presidency in the OSCE. Azerbaijan is pleased with that. Referring to the current state and prospects for the relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, the President said:
Our peoples are linked by common history, common roots. Another factor that brought our peoples closer together was, of course, the personal friendship between you and my father, President Heydar Aliyev, which has been tested with time, both the Soviet era and the years of independence. Your friendship are an example for all generations of Azerbaijanis and Kazakhs. It is an example of relations built on the basis of brotherhood, mutual assistance and strategic interests. Fortunately, our strategic interests in the region and the world also coincide. We support each other in everything and are very grateful for your continued attention to the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. You have been engaged in this issue at the very beginning, then as chairman of the OSCE, and today. Today, we have discussed this topic in detail. I have informed you of the latest developments in the negotiations. We hope that justice will soon be restored, an end will be put to occupation, Azerbaijanis will return to their homeland and the territorial integrity of our country will be restored.
We have also discussed the economic agenda in detail. It is very wide, it has many components – energy, transport, agriculture, mutual investment, construction and business. So we have a clear understanding of how our relations should develop in all these areas. The inter-governmental commission is working successfully, business forums are held. In other words, the only thing we are not pleased with is the fact that our turnover is not at the proper level, it does not meet the potential of our countries. But this is easily remedied.
President Ilham Aliyev invited the President of Kazakhstan to visit Azerbaijan and said:
I want to raise this glass to the health of Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev, to the prosperity and well-being of the Kazakh people.
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The official visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Kazakhstan is ongoing.
