Statement by Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, at the Donor Conference of the OIC Foreign Ministers

Baku, June 11, 2013

Dear Mr. Ministers,

Dear Secretary-General,

Dear Sheikh-ul-Islam,

Distinguished guests,

On behalf of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, I would like to welcome all of you in the capital of Azerbaijan – Baku city and wish you a fruitful conference and memorable stay. It is a great honor for us to host such an important and noble conferences of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The Donor Conference of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OIC “On financing the Strategic Sector Plan for the development of the Holy City of Al Quds” and “On establishing Islamic Financial Safety Net” to assist the State of Palestine is of great importance not only for the people of Palestine, but also for the whole Islamic Ummah.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear guests,

Despite the difficulties faced by the people of Palestine for many years on the pursuit of independence, great accomplishments have been achieved for this end. The acceptance of Palestine to UNESCO as a fully-fledged Member State and its acquisition of the observer state status at the United Nations is a historical milestone in this respect. We stand for Two-State solution and firmly believe that in the near future we will be witnessing fully-fledged membership of the State of Palestine in the UN as well.

The Republic of Azerbaijan has always been supporting the Palestine in framework of all international organizations. We have maintained an unequivocal and steadfast position on this issue. This position was restated in the meetings held with Palestine officials during my recent visit to Ramallah. The Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan once again officially expresses its full support to brotherly Palestinian people in their endeavor for the establishment of its independent state with East Jerusalim as its capital.

Distinguished Guests,

As you know, almost 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory has been under Armenian occupation for more than 20 years. Also, Armenia has implemented a policy of ethnic cleansing, as a result of which currently in Azerbaijan one out of 9 people is either refugee or IDP. We aim for an early resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in accordance with the norms and principles of international law, and on the basis of four UNSC resolutions which clearly demand the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian forces from all the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

The OIC along with some other international organizations passed a number of resolutions supporting Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and we are particularly grateful to the OIC Member States for their firm position on this issue within our distinguished organization, as well as other international organizations, including UN.

Dear Participants of the Conference,

The “Financing of the Strategic Sector Plan for the development of the Holy City of Al Quds” initiative is aimed to boost development of the socio-economic domains in East Jerusalem which in turn play a vital role in support of the people of Palestine.

The Strategic Sector Plan of the city of Al Quds encompasses the spheres of sustainable development and ultimately protects the historical and cultural heritage of the Holy City. At the same time, the projects envisaged in the Plan are aimed at the maintenance of East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine and improvement of living conditions of the population. I believe we all you share the view that the preservation of Islamic identity of the city is an honourable and sacred duty for the whole Islamic Ummah.

In this regard, Azerbaijan decided to contribute to the realization of the Strategic Sector Plan of Al-Quds City by initiating and implementing social and infrastructure-related projects.

In conclusion, I would like to express my words of appreciation to OIC Secretary-General prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu for the successful work done by him and his team in enhancing the international prestige of the OIC.

Thank you.