From the first days of regaining its independence in 1991, Azerbaijan initiated the process of integration into the international community with the aim of becoming a strong subject of international politics, rather than an object of someone’s politics. another.

The path of formation and state building of modern Azerbaijan was extremely difficult. The country was attacked by Armenia, which occupied the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan for almost 30 years. Such injustice and the tacit consent of the international community did not break the country; on the contrary, it has accelerated the process of finding its place in the political arena of the world.

Azerbaijan’s first diplomatic victory was the “Contract of the Century” signed in Baku in 1994, which provided for the joint development of three oil fields – “Azeri – Chirag – Gunashli” – in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. It has been signed by 13 major oil companies from 13 countries. Overnight, the prestige and importance of Azerbaijan on the international scene increased. This gave the country the opportunity to continue building its independent and balanced foreign policy. Years later, when the TAP and TANAP pipelines are built, Azerbaijan will be seen as a guarantor of EU energy security.

After signing the “Deal of the Century”, Azerbaijan transformed both economically and politically, becoming a driving force in the South Caucasus. With the commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, Azerbaijan has laid the foundations for close regional cooperation with its closest country, Turkey, and Georgia. Like Azerbaijan’s pipelines, the mechanism to boost its foreign policy clout has been launched at full capacity.

The country was offered a wider playing field. Azerbaijan’s relations with the EU, which began with the signing of a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Azerbaijan and the European Union in 1996, have also been strengthened by Azerbaijan’s continued participation to the Eastern Partnership programme.

Partnership with NATO has been and remains an important element of Azerbaijan’s integration into international structures. So, since 1999, the Azerbaijani peacekeeping group within the framework of the Turkish Tabor has participated in peacekeeping operations in Kosovo, since 2002 – in Afghanistan, since March 2003 – in Iraq.

Azerbaijan has been a member of the UN since March 2, 1992. Through the UN, Azerbaijan has reached out to the international community, especially to Europe. Azerbaijan has strengthened its relations with the UN by cooperating with UN agencies and bodies such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Food Program and UN financial institutions.

In 2016, the United Nations and the Government of Azerbaijan entered into a new cooperation agreement with the signing of the UN-Azerbaijan Partnership Framework (UNAPF) for the period 2016-2020. This agreement marks the transition from cooperation based on assistance to cooperation based on partnership.

In addition, Azerbaijan joined the Non-Aligned Movement in 2011, a summit of the organization was held in Baku in 2019, on May 4, 2020 on the initiative of the Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement, the President Ilham Aliyev, a summit titled “United against COVID-19” was held via video conference in the form of a contact group to discuss the fight against the coronavirus.

Undoubtedly, the cornerstone of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy is its relationship with Turkey, which reached its peak today. The two countries have supported each other for many years on all international platforms. Cooperation within the Organization of Turkish States, which was initially established in 2009 in Nakhchivan as a sort of consultative structure called the Turkish Council, is of particular importance for both countries. Azerbaijan and Turkey place great hopes in this organization, not only in terms of bilateral cooperation, but also in terms of deepening integration among all member countries.

So all these facts give us a very clear picture. Azerbaijan correctly calculated its forces and capabilities, while using them accurately and won the victory in the Second Karabakh War. The very reason why Azerbaijan has been very wise in choosing its allies and partners on the international scene, even the most powerful critics could not force it to give up the idea of ​​returning its territories by all the means. The formula for the success of Azerbaijani foreign policy is simple, but difficult to execute: you have to be faithful to your plan from start to finish and do not forget to coordinate positions at the same time…

News.Az Analytics Group

The article was published with the support of Media Development Agency of Azerbaijan (MEDIA)

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