Speech by President Ilham Aliyev at the first plenary session of the 16th BRICS Summit in the BRICS+/Outreach format

- Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

- Dear colleagues,

- Ladies and gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, for the invitation.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Russian Federation on its successful chairmanship of BRICS.

Azerbaijan is an active supporter of the principle of multilateralism in international relations, as was clearly demonstrated during our chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement from 2020 to 2023. In the four years of our chairmanship, the Non-Aligned Movement made great strides for its institutional development and significantly strengthened its posture in the international relations system. The experience of successful chairmanship of the Movement is now helping us as Chair of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia.

Thanks to its geographical location and modern infrastructure, Azerbaijan has become one of the world’s key transportation and logistical hubs. The East-West and North-South transport corridors pass through our territory. All segments of these transportation routes within the territory of Azerbaijan are operating successfully. At the moment, due to the sharp rise in cargo traffic through our territory, we are investing additional funds to enhance the handling capacity of these corridors.

Next month, Baku will host COP29, the largest international climate conference. The unanimous decision of nearly 200 countries to award the holding of COP29 to Azerbaijan is a testament to the respect and support for our policies. We are already contributing to cooperation between the Global South and the Global North on climate issues, and we will strive to achieve mutual understanding on climate change, global security, the rule of international law, non-interference in each other's affairs, and mutual respect.

Thank you for your attention.

President Vladimir Putin said: Thank you very much, distinguished Mr. President. Indeed, you have quite accurately noted that Azerbaijan’s role, especially in the development of logistical corridors, is very important. But that is not all. I believe that if we keep in mind the growing volume of trade with Russia, as well as with other BRICS countries, what the President of Kazakhstan has just mentioned is also very important.

I would like to wish you all the best. Thank you very much.