On August 23, an award ceremony for the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan was held in Tashkent.

First, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev addressed the event, saying:

- Dear Ilham Heydarovich,

Once again, welcome to Uzbekistan. Each of our meetings becomes part of history, and today's visit is historic as well. Today, we reviewed all areas of cooperation and every project in detail, and Ilham Heydarovich expressed his strong support. We adopted a new roadmap and agreed to increase trade turnover to $1 billion. Of course, this is not the limit.

Dear friends,

The visit of the President of Azerbaijan to Uzbekistan is a historic event. We must always keep in mind where we started, where we are today, and what we have achieved thanks to the determination of the two leaders. This is an enormous result achieved in a short period of time. I told Ilham Heydarovich that for 27 years, there had been no tangible results in our relations. Those who understand the situation will understand what I mean. So today, we are opening a new chapter in strengthening bilateral relations. We sincerely admire the achievements of brotherly Azerbaijan. Under your leadership, dear Ilham Heydarovich, Azerbaijan is achieving tremendous success in its development and on the international stage. As close friends, close neighbors and allies, we always rejoice in these achievements. By restoring the country's territorial integrity, you once again united your people. And you are worthily continuing the work of your great father, the esteemed Heydar Aliyev, consistently fulfilling his wise precepts, aspirations and dreams. During my visits to Azerbaijan, I have personally witnessed the major transformations taking place in Garabagh and the region's dynamic development. Azerbaijan, as I always say, is our close, reliable and time-tested friend and partner.

The peoples of our two countries have been bound by fraternal relations, a shared history and religion, as well as similar cultures, languages and traditions since time immemorial. Ilham Heydarovich, you have made an enormous contribution to the development of multifaceted cooperation with Uzbekistan. It was you who stood at the forefront of the alliance between our countries.

I am confident that the Treaty on Eternal Friendship will give our relations new substance. Today, I am particularly pleased to present you, a true friend of our country, with the highest state award — the highest degree of the “Dostlik” Order. It is a symbol of respect and recognition of your tremendous contributions to strengthening Uzbek-Azerbaijani relations based on eternal friendship, strategic partnership and alliance.

I sincerely congratulate you. I wish you good health and new successes in your state activities, and the brotherly people of Azerbaijan peace and progress. You know, I am very pleased that this is happening. I signed the decree with great pleasure, and I was proud to see this day arrive. Ilham Heydarovich, I congratulate you on this occasion. This is the highest order of the Uzbek state, and you can be certain that you have truly earned it. Congratulations.

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President Shavkat Mirziyoyev presented the highest degree of the “Dostlik” (Friendship) Order to the President of Azerbaijan.

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President Ilham Aliyev then addressed the event, saying:

- Dear friends,

First of all, I would like to sincerely thank you for such a high recognition of my work. It is a great honor for me to be awarded the highest degree of the “Dostlik” Order, as you said, “Ali derejeli” — that is how it is also pronounced in Azerbaijani. I would like to sincerely thank you for such a brotherly attitude. As I have already said, this is a great honor for me, and I will make every effort in the future to be worthy of this high award and to continue working to strengthen friendship and brotherhood between our peoples and our countries.

In his remarks, Shavkat Miromonovich highlighted the strategic and allied nature of our relations. We have achieved this in a relatively short period of time. If we look at the chronology of my visits to Uzbekistan, the most intensive period has been the past four to five years. During this time, I have visited Uzbekistan for the seventh time, while Shavkat Miromonovich has visited Azerbaijan even more frequently during the same period.

This is just statistics, but behind these figures lie, first and foremost, our common roots, the closeness of our peoples, cultures, languages and traditions, our sincere feelings toward one another, and the centuries-old friendship between the Uzbek and Azerbaijani peoples. This is the foundation. And, of course, what matters is how we build upon this foundation of our brotherhood, what projects we implement, and how we jointly participate in various initiatives aimed at strengthening our cooperation and developing our countries.

Of course, having received this high award, I would like to highlight the special role of President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev in strengthening our bilateral relations, his sincere attitude toward our people, and his assistance in the restoration of Garabagh. I spoke about this earlier today, and everyone in Azerbaijan knows that the first President and the first country in the world to help us in the restoration of Garabagh were President Mirziyoyev and Uzbekistan.

And, of course, every time I visit Uzbekistan, I visit different places and see how Tashkent is becoming more beautiful, how its buildings, streets and infrastructure are being transformed, and how everything is being done with greater taste, care and quality. And, of course, the project of my dear brother, “New Tashkent,” is a unique achievement of modern urban development and the result of his vision for the future development of the capital of Uzbekistan.