98th Anniversary of the Republic of Azerbaijan is celebrated in Seoul

Mr. Ramzi Teymurov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to South Korea, made opening remarks by touching the near history of Azerbaijan and its geopolitical importance.

Embassy of Azerbaijan in Seoul organized a ceremony to celebrate the 98th anniversary of the Republic Day of Azerbaijan and the 24th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and South Korea.

The ceremony was held in Millenium Seoul Hilton Hotel on May 24. All diplomatic representatives shared a great interest in the event.

Azerbaijani ambassador Mr. Ramzi Teymurov made opening remarks by touching the near history of Azerbaijan and its geopolitical importance.

He said, “Touching upon the significance of the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic on May 28, 1918, it shall be noted that it was a historic event of global scale because the first ever democratic republic was created in the Muslim East. The establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic also attains great importance in terms of acquiring own state for the people of Azerbaijan aspiring to the independence and freedom they had dreamed for almost two centuries. Azerbaijan Democratic Republic could also be considered an impetus to the spread of the secular and democratic from of governance in the Muslim East.”

Strategic Importance of Azerbaijan

Mr. Teymurov explained the geopolitical importance of the country by describing major regional projects, “Azerbaijan is the first country to have created a corridor from the Caspian to the Mediterranean and Black Seas and has already become an indispensable partner in the transport and energy projects,” and he mentioned East-West (Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey format linking Central Asia with Europe) North-South (Russia-Azerbaijan-Iran format linking India with Russia) and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project linking Europe and Central Asia.

On the energy side, he described Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipelines as addition to Trans Anadolu (TANAP) gas pipeline project.

Nagorno-Karabakh Problem

An important journal named ‘Irs – Heritage’ was presented to guests. The journal covers everything about history, culture and anthropology of Azerbaijan.

Nagorno-Karabakh problem was another important subject in his speech. “However, I should mention that there are still some obstacles that impede the more vigorous and faster development of our country. The biggest one of them is the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan ended up with the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts, the internationally recognized territories of our country. And its grave consequences have a negative influence on the comprehensive development of Azerbaijan and the whole region. However, it should be mentioned that Azerbaijan is pursuing an active foreign policy to return its occupied territories.

Relations between Azerbaijan and South Korea Improve

On the relations between Azerbaijan and South Korea issue, he stated that transport, information, and telecommunications, alternative energy, know-how, environment and construction are major areas for mutual cooperation. He said that Korean companies participated in the state-financed projects in past 10 years exceed 1.5 billion USD.

He also mentioned the increasing number of cultural activities between two countries such as “Korean Film Festival’ in Baku and “Azerbaijan Film Festival” in Seoul, “Classic Music Concert” in Seoul, active attendance at “Gyeongju Silk Road Cultural Festival” and organizing “Azerbaijan Day”.