Aliyev and Hun Manet deliver statements to media in Baku

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet delivered statements to the media on October 12.

“Operative Information Center-OMM” reports that the President of Azerbaijan spoke first.

Statement by President Ilham Aliyev

— Dear Mr. Prime Minister, dear guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Mr. Prime Minister, I welcome you to Azerbaijan once again. I am confident that your visit will be very productive and enjoyable for you.

You will spend several days in Azerbaijan and, in the coming days, will also attend the CICA Summit. It is a great honor for us that you are personally participating in this event.

I also remember meeting your father here in Azerbaijan 12 years ago, when he was prime minister and is now the president of the Senate. This reflects the continuity of our policy. We are good friends and partners.

We actively cooperate within international organizations and support each other. We have very good political relations and active cooperation within the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement and CICA. We have also agreed to intensify contacts on a bilateral basis.

Of course, we need to identify what we can do in trade and investment. We discussed these opportunities at length and established a joint working group to address practical aspects of our trade and investment cooperation. There are many opportunities. Distance may be the only obstacle, but in the modern world that is not a major problem. Another issue is the lack of information, and we need to address that gap.

I hope today’s business forum, attended by numerous companies from Azerbaijan and Cambodia, will help us learn more about one another, the opportunities available and our economic and investment priorities, and identify ways to establish close economic cooperation.

Trade between our countries remains very low. But I reiterate my confidence that we will see a major boost in this area following the Prime Minister’s official visit. We also discussed opportunities to establish joint production facilities in various sectors, as well as cooperation in tourism and education.

During the Soviet era, hundreds of Cambodian students studied in Azerbaijan. We believe this tradition should be revived and that mutual educational opportunities should be created in both countries. This would also help expand people-to-people contacts.

Transport and digital transformation are also among the areas we discussed and consider priorities.

We are also pleased that Cambodia is interested in our ASAN public service system, which has proved effective and received an almost 100% positive assessment from Azerbaijani society. The system has already been adopted in many countries friendly to Azerbaijan. I am confident it could also make a valuable contribution to our bilateral relations.

Our parliaments have also demonstrated strong solidarity. Parliamentary friendship groups operate in both countries. In addition, with Cambodia’s support, the Azerbaijani parliament obtained observer status in the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly. This shows that Asia, and Southeast Asia in particular, is important to Azerbaijan and is one of our foreign policy priorities.

Located between Asia and Europe, Azerbaijan naturally plays a role in facilitating connectivity.

We also discussed an issue that, unfortunately, is a shared problem for both countries: landmines. Both countries have suffered, and continue to suffer, from mines. It is extremely important to exchange experience, knowledge and practical skills, and to conduct training.

In the years since Azerbaijani territories were liberated from occupation, more than 400 people have been killed or injured by mines planted by Armenia during its occupation.

Another issue is peace and security. Both countries view peace and security as essential conditions for development. They must be based on international law and the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. After 30 years of occupation, Azerbaijan restored its territorial integrity and sovereignty by force. Every inch of Azerbaijani territory is now under the control of the Azerbaijani state and people. Large-scale reconstruction is under way in territories cleared of Armenian occupying forces, and the Great Return Program is being implemented. Nearly 100,000 people already live and work in those areas. This process is continuing. In the past and today, we have faced challenges that are similar in some respects. Our firm commitment to international law and the decisions of international organizations is also a factor that unites us.

Mr. Prime Minister, I welcome you once again. I know you have a very busy program. I am confident that you will enjoy your time in Azerbaijan, both during your official visit and at the summit. I also hope you will have time to get to know our country better. Welcome once again.

X X X

The Cambodian Prime Minister then delivered a statement.

Statement by Prime Minister Hun Manet

— Thank you, Mr. President.

First of all, on behalf of our delegation, I would like to thank you for the warm hospitality and for inviting me to visit Azerbaijan officially today and attend the CICA Summit in Baku.

As the President noted, we held a meeting earlier. We exchanged views on a wide range of issues where we can work together to develop our bilateral cooperation. We also signed three agreements that lay the groundwork for future cooperation in trade, education and other promising areas.

I agree with the President that commercial and trade ties, as well as relations in other fields, remain limited. Our countries have had relations for more than 30 years. Hun Sen visited Azerbaijan in 2014, and that visit set out a roadmap for cooperation that continues to this day.

I am confident that, starting with my visit today, we can develop our cooperation through joint efforts, including in areas such as trade. We agreed to prepare a framework agreement envisaging the creation of a joint trade working group to identify and implement concrete measures to expand trade ties. We have also worked on and discussed cooperation in defense, security and education.

On the multilateral level, we reaffirmed our shared commitment to strengthening cooperation through international platforms. Cambodia has previously supported Azerbaijan’s efforts to obtain observer status in ASEAN and develop ties with ASEAN countries.

I believe that, as the global situation becomes increasingly complex, interaction between regions and countries is gaining greater importance, particularly in the international arena. In this regard, Cambodia and Azerbaijan’s determination to strengthen bilateral cooperation will also contribute to the development of our engagement at the multilateral level.

As for other matters, I believe the President has covered in detail all the issues we discussed. The next step is to work together to identify ways to turn those discussions into concrete measures, implement them in practice and achieve tangible results.

This afternoon, I will have the opportunity to meet representatives of Azerbaijan’s private sector. We will also invite an Azerbaijani business delegation to Cambodia to explore the opportunities available. I believe direct contacts between the private sectors are very important for promoting real opportunities and identifying concrete prospects for investment cooperation.

We also discussed the possibility of a meeting between representatives of the civil aviation authorities of our countries and signing an air services agreement that would enable the expansion of transport links. I believe this covers the main points of our discussions.

Mr. President, I would like to thank you once again for your invitation. On behalf of the Cambodian people, I would like to thank the Government of Azerbaijan for its support to our country over the years, particularly for providing scholarships in education. We hope this cooperation will extend to other areas in the future.

Finally, I would like to convey His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni’s invitation to Your Excellency to visit Cambodia. I believe the visit would provide an opportunity for broader discussions on the further development of cooperation between our countries. I also wish you success in chairing the CICA Summit in the coming days.

Thank you.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia Hun Manet delivered statements to the media on October 12.