Remarks by H.E. Elkhan Polukhov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to CARICOM

Excellency Irwin LaRocque

Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community,

Distinguished team members of the CARICOM Secretariat,

Excellences, dear colleagues.

It is my pleasure and honour to be accredited in the capacity of the first Plenipotentiary Representative- designate of the Republic of Azerbaijan to CARICOM. In this position I will put all my efforts and energy to build and strengthen relations between your organization and my country.

CARICOM is an important regional platform to promote democracy, strengthen regional security and foster sustainable development in the Caribbean region, and Azerbaijan pays special importance to the relation with it.

Today we all live in the challenging time. Upon initiative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, a special session of the UN General Assembly in response to the Covid-19 pandemic was convened on 3-4 December 2020. Azerbaijan has so far signed two donor agreements to provide voluntary financial assistance to the Covid-19 Appeal Fund of the World Health Organization (10 mln USD in total). Recently, we joined Vaccines Global Access Facility (COVAX) with a committed amount of 21 million USD. Via International Development Agency – AIDA, Azerbaijan steadily responses to the humanitarian crises all other the world and Caribbean region is part of our activities and supports.  

Azerbaijan is a constant supporter of regional cooperation and is keenly interested in strengthening good relations and stability in Caribbean region and entire world and creating favorable conditions for the growth of economic and trade, cultural and educational ties. As a part of these initiatives, Azerbaijan provides educational scholarships to the NAM member-states and we believe that via cooperation with CARICOM this opportunity can be utilized more effectively.

The objective of ensuring a peaceful, just and prosperous world is hardly achievable if the universally accepted fundamental values, norms and principles, including those enshrined at the UN Charter, are overtly disregarded and misinterpreted. Conflicts, prolonged foreign occupation and the lack of accountability endanger peace and security. It gives me a pleasure to inform the CARICOM that the illegal Armenian occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan which was a threat to peace and security in the South Caucasus and wider Europe, has come to an end. Azerbaijan regained control over its territories that were under Armenian occupation for almost three decades in blatant violation of the four UN Security Council resolutions.

Taking this chance, I would like to once again thank the Secretary-General and Secretariat for this opportunity to represent my country in this organization and insure that will use all my energy and knowledge to build mutually beneficial relations between CARICOM and Azerbaijan.

I thank you for your attention.