Azerbaijan's achievements in recent years have elevated the country to middle-power status, significantly expanding its influence beyond the South Caucasus region, Farid Shafiyev, Chairman of the Board of the Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center), said during a seminar in Ankara, Türkiye.
The seminar was jointly organized by the AIR Center and the Center for Strategic Research of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SAM).
Shafiyev described Azerbaijan’s growing international standing as stemming from a combination of military and political achievements, including the restoration of its territorial integrity, its leading role in the regional peace process, strategic transport and energy initiatives, active multilateral diplomacy and mediation efforts, as well as hosting major global events, namely COP29 and the World Urban Forum (WUF13).
The AIR Center Chairman highlighted that the “Shusha Declaration on Allied Relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Türkiye,” signed in 2021, is of great strategic significance. According to him, the document has once again reaffirmed the existing principles of solidarity and mutual support in bilateral and multilateral formats on such issues of national interest as independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the inviolability of the internationally recognized borders of both states.
Farid Shafiyev emphasized that Azerbaijan’s geostrategic location and its regional communications potential have turned the country into one of Eurasia’s key transit and logistics hubs, adding that Azerbaijan’s active involvement in developing the Middle Corridor has enabled the country to position itself as a crucial geopolitical actor.
“Azerbaijan's independent foreign policy contributes not only to regional but also to global peace and security. The country's efforts to ensure stability and sustainable development in the South Caucasus, including its pragmatic and forward-thinking approach to peace negotiations with Armenia, reflect Azerbaijan's rational diplomatic course," he said.
