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Assistant to Azerbaijani President: We need cooperation and partnership, not aid

14 June 2025 13:24 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye have done their homework and coordinated their transport projects with friendly countries in Central Asia. Where is the European Union?, said Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan - Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, at the “The Middle Corridor: A New Geopolitical and Economic Lifeline?” panel held within the framework of the “GLOBSEC Forum 2025” in Prague, APA reports.

He also touched upon the refusal of funds in Europe and the United States to finance the project during the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line.

The presidential assistant said that when the implementation of the project began, financial funds operating in Europe and the United States refused to finance it:

“We need cooperation and partnership, not an aid. Because we are a country with investment and regional cooperation opportunities. Azerbaijan also has a regional partnership with brotherly countries in the region. Within the framework of this partnership, we have built the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line together with Azerbaijan, Türkiye and Georgia. When the implementation of this project began, funds in Europe and the United States stopped financing it. And we said, okay, we will implement the project at the expense of our own funds. We have connected our transport infrastructure system with brotherly countries in Central Asia. If you look at the map, you will see that the three neighboring states, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye, have done their homework and connected their transport projects with friendly countries in Central Asia. And where is the European Union? If you are a partner, you can join us. But so far it is not clear to us what the European Union wants.”