By Mazahir Afandiyev

Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, neighboring Armenia launched an armed offensive against newly independent Azerbaijan. As a result, over a fifth of the country's territory—including the city of Shusha—has remained under occupation for thirty years. The occupation resulted in the widespread ethnic cleansing of almost one million Azerbaijanis from these lands, along with other major crimes.

Since 1993, our nation has prioritized its Sustainable Development by taking into account universal ideals, to which the entire globe is bound. Particularly in the last 20 years, under President Ilham Aliyev's direction, these values—which prioritize tolerance and cosmopolitan values—have shaped the entire Azerbaijani community.

Today, Azerbaijan continues its commitment to partnership on all international platforms and demonstrates to the world community the way to achieve sustainable development. Within the framework of this cooperation, in recent years, our country has become an integral part of the Turkic world, setting in its multi-vector foreign policy the priority of strengthening relations, especially with the Turkic states.

Presently, Azerbaijan persists in its dedication to collaboration on global stages and exemplifies to the global community the path towards sustainable development. In the context of this cooperation, our nation has developed into a vital component of the Turkic world in recent years, prioritizing the development of ties, particularly with the Turkic states, in its multifaceted foreign policy.

Nobody is unaware that one of the international forums that varies in significance for Azerbaijan is the Organization of Turkic States. As of right now, Azerbaijan has provided extensive support for the organisation's founding and operations.

In our renewing world, combining the historical achievements of the Turkic states committed to the ideas of peace, security, stability, development, and progress with modern challenges, ensuring better coexistence of peoples, and strengthening the more stable unity of the Turkic states in the current geopolitical situation reflects the national interests of Azerbaijan.

Turkic states are currently working on significant documents that will define sustainable development in practically all areas. Specifically, the 2040 adoption of the "Overview of the Turkic World-2021" serves as the primary road map for adjusting to the changes occurring in our more interconnected world. Guaranteeing the Turkic states' unity and ensuring the durability of their influence on the regional and global economies are among the top priorities here.

According to this perspective, the Republic of Azerbaijan's initiative to host an informal summit of the heads of state of the Organization of Turkic States in Shusha on July 6 of this year and the signing of a declaration on the outcomes of the meeting proved that Karabakh is the beating heart of the Turkic world. Another accomplishment of the Azerbaijani people was President Ilham Aliyev's address during the summit, which once again reflected our aspirations and future vision.

The summit's location in Shusha, which is regarded as the jewel in Karabakh and one of the major hubs of the sociopolitical and cultural life of both Azerbaijan and the region, was obviously planned. As a result, Shusha, which has come to represent a tolerant and cosmopolitan Azerbaijan, was named the "Cultural capital of Azerbaijan" in 2021. In 2022, Azerbaijan proclaimed that year to be the "Year of Shusha" in honor of the 270th anniversary of Shusha's founding. Shusha was named by ICESCO the "Cultural Capital of the Islamic World" for 2024 and by TURKSOY the "Cultural Capital of the Turkic World" for 2023. At the same time, in 2021, in the city of Shusha, a representation of our unwavering spirit, the Shusha Declaration, was signed. This document is significant not only for Azerbaijan but also for the whole Turkic world.

President Ilham Aliyev's extensive and in-depth speech emphasized once more the significance of the Turkic states in establishing regional security and stability. It stressed that the Turkic peoples constitute a family founded on shared ethnic roots, history, language, culture, traditions, and values.

The president's visionary and focused words, "The XXI century should become the century of development of the Turkic world," made it clear that the key to uniting and organizing Turkic-speaking states and accomplishing all of their objectives is cooperation based on respect for one another.

President Ilham Aliyev mentioned in his speech that positive dynamics are developing friendly and brotherly relations as well as cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Turkic states. He also mentioned the growing volume of trade turnover and stated that the work being done is in the best interests of all nations.

This year, Azerbaijan will host the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP29, marking a further triumph for the country and the Turkic region. "Drawing on the experience we have gained during the four-year-long chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement, Azerbaijan will spare no effort to strengthen solidarity and reach consensus between developed and developing countries," President Ilham Aliyev emphasised.

Naturally, one of the primary responsibilities in this regard is to enhance international solidarity worldwide as well as within the context of the Turkic world. In this sense, the 31-point "Garabagh Declaration of the Informal Summit of the Organisation of Turkic States," which was signed by five heads of state, will enable the Turkic states to identify the Turkic point of view in discussions of global challenges, as well as to further strengthen the solidarity of the Turkic world and participate at a high level in the work of COP29.

Mazahir Afandiyev is a member of the Milli Majlis (the Azerbaijani Parliament).