Aliyev and Putin discussed plans for the development of the North-South corridor

The Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan, Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev, met today at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana. Putin noted the "positive interaction" of bilateral relations "on a key issue, namely trade and economic cooperation." “The trade turnover is more than four billion dollars, and 4.3 - 4.5 billion dollars are direct Russian investments in the economy of Azerbaijan. The trend is good: in the first half of the year, in my opinion, there was already a 13 percent growth, in general, everything is developing positively,” Putin said. He particularly noted the side's plans in the field of infrastructure, where "the well-known North-South highway is in the first place."

"There are opportunities in other areas, including in the field of energy and industrial cooperation. We are acting on the basis of an agreement that we signed at the end of 2022. This is a good basis for the development of relations in all directions," Putin continued. He noted the "humanitarian component". "In my opinion, the Days of Russian Culture in Azerbaijan have just ended. Russian language is always at the center of your personal attention to the support of the Russian language, more than 300 schools in Azerbaijan work with the Russian language, teach the Russian language to young people and children. This creates a good basis and perspective for the preservation and development of our relations for the future," Putin stressed.

Aliyev, in turn, noted that there are many issues that are being resolved very successfully. He pointed to the growth of trade turnover between the two countries in recent years. "It is encouraging that mutual settlements in national currencies are also growing: for Azerbaijani exports to Russia it is already more than 70 percent, and for Russian exports to Azerbaijan it is about 50 percent," Aliyev continued. Touching upon humanitarian cooperation, Aliyev noted that "about a million students in Azerbaijan study in Russian." There are 150,000 people studying in Russian schools, and 800,000 are learning Russian as a second language.  That is, it means that the future generation of our citizens will also actively interact and speak Russian in the same way as you and me," he added. Aliyev also pointed to positive developments in the North-South project after his previous meeting with Putin (April 2024).

"We are determined to expand the infrastructure of the corridor on the territory of Azerbaijan. Although it physically exists, it does not correspond to the intentions of our partners and neighbors to make the most of this project," Aliyev further noted.

He also recalled the signing of an agreement by the parties in 2022. "The Allied Declaration, which is being successfully implemented, and all the points of the declaration are reflected in real life." "We have been working together as allies for more than two years and showing good results," Aliyev stressed.