Baghdad Declaration confirms progress in normalising Azerbaijan-Armenia relations

The 52nd session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was held on 17-18 October in Baghdad, Iraq. Azerbaijan was represented by a delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev. According to the press service of Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry, the session adopted four resolutions on Azerbaijan, and the Baghdad Declaration included a paragraph on the Azerbaijan-Armenia normalisation process.

The declaration welcomed progress in normalisation, in particular the initialling of the Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the two states. On behalf of the OIC member states, it called on the Armenian side to remove remaining legal and political obstacles to signing a peace agreement. It also expressed solidarity with the Azerbaijani government and people in efforts to restore and rebuild territories freed from occupation, and urged OIC members to actively support demining those areas.

Rafiyev voiced concern over military conflicts, growing tensions in the region and rising Islamophobia in the world. He also addressed the Palestinian question and Azerbaijan's priorities ahead of its upcoming chairmanship of the OIC summit. The session also saw Aydin Safikhanli elected to the OIC Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights for 2027-2030. Rafiyev held bilateral meetings with Gambian Foreign Minister Seringe Modou Njie, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Musa Kulaklikaya and Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed Hussein Bahr al-Uloum.