President of Azerbaijan Highly Appraises Reforms Underway in Uzbekistan
2026-08-24 10:00:00 / News of ministry
"Shavkat Mirziyoyev Has Completely Transformed Uzbekistan" — Ilham Aliyev
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev highly praised Uzbekistan's progress in recent years and the transformations carried out in the country under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
He emphasized that there is a huge difference between the situation when Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to lead Uzbekistan and the situation today.
"When Shavkat Miromonovich began leading Uzbekistan, the situation was completely different. Both the citizens of Uzbekistan and we know this very well. That is why he had to work with great effort to set the country on a path of development and build the economic foundations of the state from scratch," said Ilham Aliyev.
The Azerbaijani leader also spoke about efforts to develop industry and agriculture and attract foreign investment.
"Today we see a completely different Uzbekistan — a country that has become a highly respected member of the international community. Issues related to industrial development, agriculture, energy, and transport infrastructure are being resolved very quickly and effectively," he said.
According to Ilham Aliyev, the work and reforms carried out in Uzbekistan have also created an important foundation for joint cooperation projects between the two countries.
"Without the work done by Shavkat Mirziyoyev and his team for Uzbekistan, and without these reforms, it would not have been possible to implement a single joint project," said the President of Azerbaijan.
He also noted that before Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to lead Uzbekistan, there was not a single joint project between the two countries.
At present, the two sides aim to bring mutual trade turnover to 1 billion dollars. Ilham Aliyev described this figure not as a long-term dream, but as a result to be achieved within the next two years.
"Today we are talking about a trade turnover of 1 billion dollars. This is not some long-term dream — it is something that will be achieved within the next two years," he said.
The Azerbaijani leader noted that investment projects and mutual investments in sectors needed by both economies were also discussed, emphasizing that such cooperation has emerged as a result of the parallel development of the two countries.
