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Azerbaijan's biggest events in 2018

5 January 2018 10:00 (UTC+04:00)
Azerbaijan's biggest events in 2018

By Aygul Salmanova

The year 2017 has come to an end! It left the country in a very different place from where it was 12 months ago. As the new year brings along new challenges and events, it is time to reveal which major events will happen in Azerbaijan.

Presidential elections

The presidential elections in Azerbaijan will be held on October 17, 2018.

In accordance with the changes made to the Constitution in September last year, the President of Azerbaijan will be elected for a 7-year term (currently the presidential term is five years).

First Democrartic Republic in East turns 100

May 28, 2018 will see the centenary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first parliamentary republic in the East.

President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order on the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.

Azerbaijan declared its independence establishing the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which became the first secular parliamentary democracy in the Muslim World and recognized by other democratic nations, including the U.S.

The country’s independence was interrupted in 1920, when it was invaded by Bolshevists, and forcefully incorporated into the USSR in 1922 to restore its independence only in 1991.

Sport events

2018 will be a sporting year for the country. The capital city will host the BMX World Championships on June 5-9. UCI BMX World Championships are the world championships for BMX racing (bicycle motorcross) held under the regulations of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the sport’s international governing body. The UCI BMX World Championships are held annually and the winner of each event is crowned the BMX Cycling World Champion.

This year, Baku will host the World Cup series along with the qualifications for the Youth Olympic Games to be held in Buenos Aires. The Games are scheduled for October 6-12. The best flying gymnasts will perform at the Baku-based National Gymnastics Arena in April within the framework of the European Championships in Trampoline, Double-Mini Trampoline and Tumbling. In June, the strongest Men and Women Artistic Gymnasts will be determined at the National Gymnastics Arena.

The third successive Formula 1 race will be staged on the streets of Azerbaijan’s capital city on the weekend of April 27-29, 2018, the first time the race will be staged in Baku at this time of year.

The 82nd congress of the International Gymnastics Federation

The 82nd congress of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) will be held in Baku on December 2-3, 2018, as the General Assembly decided at its 81st congress held in Tokyo. Representatives of the member states of the Federation, as well as members of the Council will attend the congress in Baku.

Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement

The mid-term Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement will be held in Baku on April 3-6, 2018. The country will chair the Non-Aligned Movement in 2019-2022, and the next summit will also be held in Azerbaijan in 2019.

Legal status of the Caspian Sea

The presidents of the five Caspian countries (Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan) will meet in Kazakhstan in the first half of 2018 regarding the legal status of the Caspian Sea.

The forthcoming summit is of special importance for five states, since an agreement implying legal obligations of the coastal countries will be submitted for the approval of the leaders. This agreement will be an important milestone in the issue of the legal status of the Caspian Sea.

The Caspian Sea is surrounded by the five coastal countries has a total surface area of 371,000 square kilometers, holding 78,200 cubic kilometers of water. The legal status of the Caspian Sea has remained unsolved during the past two decades, preventing development and exploitation of its disputable oil and gas fields and creating obstacles to the realization of major projects.

The commissioning of TANAP

Tthe beginning of 2018 will be important for Azerbaijan and Turkey, as the countdown starts before the commissioning of TANAP.

The construction of TANAP’s offshore section has already been completed in Turkey’s Canakkale province and, as Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak said, this project will be ready in the first half of 2018.

The Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) has a special significance not only for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, but also for entire Europe.

The conference of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH)

Baku will host the annual conference of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), which has more than 300 members from 88 countries.

The International Association of Ports and Harbors was established in 1955 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Its annual conferences feature discussions on important issues that include: port stability and security, the development of new port facilities, the impact of environmental change, information technologies and port operations.

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