BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 18. With the strong ties
in the regional scale and also on global arena, Azerbaijan already
became an important actor in many aspects, President Ilham Aliyev
said during his speech at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Annual
Meetings of the Islamic Development Bank Group.


The head of state noted that thanks to Azerbaijan's independent
foreign policy, the country gained strong support in the
international community, and added that the number of Azerbaijan's
friends is growing year after year.