Dear Fellow Students and Readers!
On March 7th, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan to Hungary, Tahir Taghizadeh, visited Székesfehérvár. I was lucky to meet him in person, and I enjoyed this great occasion while learning a lot about numerous topics. In this article, I would like to share all about it with you!
The meeting took place at 4:00 PM in the Mathias Corvinus Collegium. Two friends of mine from our school also joined me. We had a great time chatting about current events and our endeavours. After this casual discussion to pass the time, the meeting began as scheduled.
Mr. Tahir’s arrival was quite uplifting. He greeted us and kicked off the afternoon’s program by introducing himself. The first question was about his education, something that may be interesting for all of us. He was born in 1967 in the Soviet Union, Gorkiy. He went to secondary school in Baku, the current capital city of Azerbaijan, but when it came to university, he faced challenges since he aspired to become a diplomat. For someone in the U.S.S.R., there were only a few options to study this profession. The Moscow State Institute of International Relations had such a curriculum.
He steadily climbed the career ladder, advancing one step at a time. First, he was assigned to the Soviet (then the Russian Federation’s) Consulate in Brno, Czechoslovakia, in 1990. He spoke about the wave of dissolutions in the Soviet Eastern Bloc, particularly about the split of Czechoslovakia into the two separate successor states, as we know them today. In 1995, he returned to Baku and in 1996-97, he was second secretary in the US, Canada, and Europe Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan. After this, his career accelerated, and he was relocated to the US Embassy, where he served as Second Secretary, First Secretary, then Counsellor. He assumed the role of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan upon his return to Czechia in 2007. Seven years later, he went to the UK to fulfill this exact same position. Our story begins, though, on the 23rd of July, 2021, when he was appointed to Hungary. His career is a shining example and a source of inspiration for all of us. We can see the importance of adaptability and endurance in achieving success. He speaks Azerbaijani, Russian, English and Czech fluently, and some Slovak and Turkish.
He proceeded with the discussion by summarizing his recent experiences and first impressions. He loves his position here for numerous reasons. First and foremost, he mentioned the honesty and openness to cooperation and shaping the relationship between our two countries.
To quote his words:
„What I absolutely love about Hungarians is their firm commitment to their word. I once had a contact promise to call me on the same day, and even though he couldn’t spare much time to talk, he still called me at 23:50—purely because he said he would.”
Secondly, he mentioned the great hospitality we offer our visitors. He finds the similarity of the essence of our cultures really thrilling and fascinating. The two languages share many grammatical structures and even some vocabulary. He also admires how Hungarians have weathered historical challenges while preserving their heritage and values. Overall, he sees the connection between the two nations as more than just a strategic partnership; he feels a powerful cultural, historical bond and a shared will to improve.
About the joint work he has participated in so far, he stressed the importance of a key breakthrough: the natural gas deal that we Hungarians made with Azerbaijan in early 2023. The last question was regarding the conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, as a result of the occupation by neighboring Armenia, over 600,000 Azerbaijanis became IDPs. The term IDP, standing for „Internally Displaced Person” means someone losing one’s housing due to a conflict or its aftermath, unable or not willing to relocate to a different nation. The large number of IDPs created great economic and social struggles for Azerbaijan in the early 1990s.
The fighting has ended, with the liberation of the internationally recognized lands of Azerbaijan from Armenian occupation, but its effects still apply. For instance, Azerbaijan has a unique geographic feature: the exclave of Nakhchivan. Looking at the map, it’s completely separated from the mainland (by Armenia). This makes it the opposite of an enclave, which is entirely surrounded by one country. Instead, this exclave is completely cut off from the homeland.
A key advantage of the country though is being a safe trade route between Europe and Asia. Since its northern neighbor, Russia, is sanctioned by various parties, and it shares a southern border with Iran, traders and companies prefer transporting goods through Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea.
He mentioned that Baku is a great place to explore for tourists looking for an eastern experience. Notably, in downtown Baku, stands an untouched Armenian Christian church, intact even from graffiti, which demonstrates Azerbaijan’s respect for religious and cultural diversity. However, Tahir Taghizadeh was not the only guest who joined the event. The first secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Seymur Abdullayev, also paid a visit to us. He was an equally open, kind, and friendly person. I exchanged a few thoughts with him as well, and he turned out to be a truly hard-working person committed to his role.
After the event ended, we took photos, discussed a few topics, exchanged contacts, and walked back to the diplomatic car (with its notable blue nameplate).
Thank you for reading my article. I hope you enjoyed it! Have an awesome day!
Sándor Noel 11.A