BRI winning hearts and minds in Azerbaijan

An initiative touching hearts

"The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013 has touched the hearts of the Azerbaijani people, as the restoration of the ancient Silk Road is for the benefit of the entire world, and the development and prosperity of all countries," Hajiyev said.

"The Belt and Road Initiative is not imposing anything on anyone, it just provides a framework for mutually beneficial cooperation," he added. The fundamental features of the Belt and Road Initiative are that every country knows how to develop in their own way. As China and Azerbaijan have a strong traditional friendship, Hajiyev believes the initiative will provide immense opportunities to bring China and Azerbaijan closer.

According to Hajiyev, Azerbaijan fully supports the initiative, and is building new bridges of cooperation and friendship. "We are looking forward to the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation at the end of this month, and Azerbaijan will actively participate in this high-level event," he said.

People-to-people contacts, as a non-ignorable component of the Belt and Road Initiative, are boosted by China and Azerbaijan via linking people of the two countries in cultural exchange, education, humanitarian dialogue and tourism cooperation. China and Azerbaijan signed a memorandum of understanding to stimulate tourism between the two countries. "Data from 2018 shows 15,000 Chinese tourists visited Azerbaijan last year, which is not enough of course, and we aim to do more to attract more visitors in the coming years," Hajiyev said.

He also highlighted education exchanges between the two countries, as China has sent students to study language in Azerbaijan and vice-versa. "We are looking forward to increase the number of (students) because we see they can play the role of a humanitarian bridge between our countries."