President Ilham Aliyev chairs meeting regarding hosting of COP29 in Azerbaijan next year [PHOTOS/VIDEO]

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has chaired a meeting regarding the holding of the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change - COP29 in the country next year.

The head of state made a speech at the meeting.

Speech by President Ilham Aliyev

- A few days ago, our country achieved another great success – the COP29 international conference will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan. This decision was made by all countries of the world a few days ago. Thus, great confidence and great respect have once again been shown for Azerbaijan. We fully deserve that. As a result of our policy, we have secured very strong positions on the global scale. Respect for Azerbaijan in the international arena is growing by the day, and we have earned this respect with our actions, work and policies. Our independent policy, our principled position, our compliance with and commitment to international law and, at the same time, the restoration of sovereignty on the territory of our country have further boosted respect for us.

The importance of this event, among other things, also consists in the fact that this decision was made two and a half months after the anti-terror operation. Thus, the entire world community has once again expressed support for Azerbaijan. I should also note that the decision to hold the COP29 conference in Baku has been made with the consent of every member of the international community. The unanimous position has been demonstrated here again.

True, certain Western countries made baseless allegations against Azerbaijan after the anti-terror operation. These accusations against us have no basis whatsoever. Because Azerbaijan has once again secured the supremacy of international law by conducting the anti-terror operation against separatists and occupiers in our sovereign territory. At the same time, we have restored our sovereignty by observing all humanitarian norms. Certain Western countries, traditionally including France, of course, are not going to put up with that. However, the international community already sees that even Armenia has come to terms with this situation, and the decision to hold the COP29 conference in Azerbaijan is further evidence of that. But some political leaders of France are trying to be more Armenian than the Armenians themselves. However, they will also have to come to terms with this situation.

Also, the concept of international community and international unity is sometimes distorted in the West. The international community is not about 30-40 countries. The international community includes all countries of the world, and these countries have unanimously shown their great support for Azerbaijan. This is not the first time this has happened. We have been successfully chairing the Non-Aligned Movement for four years, and here too, our chairmanship has been possible with the support of 120 countries. In fact, our chairmanship has been extended by one year. This was a great indicator in itself. A total of 120 countries of the world have expressed their support for Azerbaijan. This time, all countries of the world have shown this support.

Of course, the hosting of large-scale international events places a great responsibility on us. However, we have already hosted a number of major international events so far. In fact, we have hosted the International Astronautical Congress with great success this year. Everyone knows that this prestigious international event has been held in Baku for the second time. This event was first held in Baku, the capital of Soviet Azerbaijan, 50 years ago, and this year it was held in Baku, the capital of independent Azerbaijan, again. Of course, COP29 does not compare with any of the events held so far – even if we recall the European Games when 5,000 athletes and about 3,000 guests accompanying them came to Azerbaijan. However, tens of thousands of foreign visitors will come to our country for COP29, and Baku will become the center of the world for two weeks. According to some estimates, about 70,000-80,000 foreign visitors will come to our country during this period.

I believe that COP29 is one of the most prestigious international events in the world. From the point of view of the number of countries represented, it is no inferior to the UN General Assembly. Therefore, we should immediately start all preparatory work. We don't have too much time – less than 11 months. Therefore, I thought that I should chair the first meeting and give all the necessary instructions. I will be regularly updated on the progress in the implementation of these instructions.

I have no doubt that we will hold the COP29 international conference at a high level and that it will be yet another great success for our country and people. At the same time, Azerbaijan will assert itself in this field as an oil and gas country and everyone in the world will see again that our agenda is related to green energy. The creation of green energy and the transportation of green energy to world markets are currently the priorities of our energy policy. This is a reality and the whole world will see it again.