Expert: Azerbaijan turning into regional geopolitical hub [EXCLUSIVE]

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Azerbaijan is turning into a regional hub of major geopolitical events, Pakistani political analyst Muhammad Asif Noor has said in an interview with Azernews.

"Azerbaijan has become the regional hub of major geopolitical events in Baku… It stands at the juncture of east and west not only geographically but also geopolitically and geo-economically," Asif Noor said.

The analyst made the remarks while commenting on Azerbaijan’s hosting of the 18th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement member countries on October 25-26. The representatives of 158 countries and international organizations participated in the summit held in Baku. Azerbaijan will chair this structure in 2019-2022.

Noor emphasized that due to its multi-faceted foreign policy, Baku took over the presidency of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the largest organization in the world after the UN, uniting in its ranks the largest number of countries.

The expert noted that Azerbaijan strongly contributes to the promotion of peace and security. The country has also distanced itself from conflicts and promotes bilateral cooperation amongst the countries through its firm standpoints on the issues of international and regional nature.

"As a result, Azerbaijan has become one of the first countries in the Caucasus region to secure the nonpermanent seat at the UN Security Council and Baku has become a venue where important political discussions among countries are held,” Noor said.

The expert said that NAM has a great potential to help resolve conflicts across the world, including the ones in Syria, Yemen, Palestine, Afghanistan, Kashmir, as well as in Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region. He described NAM as an organization that has “aspirations for peace and stability, economic prosperity, equality, and justices with fair and developed world equal for all.”

"Taking into account the dynamic leadership in Baku and the country's track record of strong commitment to peace and multiculturalism, one can assume that NAM will take a new shape and dimension and improve its reputation with Azerbaijan’s chairmanship of the organization in the next three years," he said.

Noor further reminded that apart from the NAM, Baku also recently hosted the Summit of Turkic Countries as well as the summit that brought together Russian and NATO forces.

"Choosing Baku as a venue of such events is another step towards acknowledging the peaceful and neutral role of Baku in the resolution of conflicts worldwide," he concluded.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 

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