NATO's strategic concept, region's security discussed in Baku
By Nazrin Gadimova
An international conference titled "NATO's New Strategic Concept and Challenges to Security in the South Caucasus" was held at the Institute for Human Rights of the Azerbaijan's National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) on December 18.
The event, supported by the Research Institute for Human Rights of ANAS, Azerbaijan Lawyers Confederation, Eurasian Lawyers Association and the Romanian Embassy in Azerbaijan, was attended by Head of the Institute for Human Rights, MP Ayten Mustafayeva, and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Policy and State Building Ali Huseynli and Romanian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Daniel Cristian Ciobanu.
Addressing the event, the speakers talked about the importance of the Azerbaijan- NATO relations, security problems of states located in the geostrategic area of the South Caucasus and this region's role for NATO.
Speaking at the first session titled "NATO's Partnership with Azerbaijan: Great cooperation's frames", MP, member of the Azerbaijani delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, board member of the Confederation of Lawyers Gudrat Hasanguliyev said the transformations, currently being implemented in the security sector due to globalization, have a great importance.
Head of the NATO liaison office in the South Caucasus William Lahue, in turn, spoke about the current NATO-Azerbaijan cooperation and its future prospects.
Head of the Baku State University's department of Caucasus history, PhD Irada Huseynova made a presentation on the theme "On the question of regional security in the Caucasus" during the session titled "The emergence of challenges to security in the South Caucasus".
Geostrategic importance of the Caucasus region has increased significantly at the end of the 20th - beginning of 21th centuries, Huseynova said.
During the discussions an extensive exchange of views on various aspects of cooperation between Azerbaijan and NATO was held.
NATO and Azerbaijan are actively cooperating on democratic, institutional, and military reforms, as well as conducting practical cooperation in various areas.
The cooperation plan between Azerbaijan and the NATO is set out in the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) on Azerbaijan.
Earlier, NATO's role in the region's energy security was discussed in Baku, as well as Azerbaijan hosted NATO days.
Azerbaijan aspires to achieve Euro-Atlantic standards and get closer to Euro-Atlantic institutions. In this regard, supporting the security sector reform and establishing democratic institutions are the key elements of the NATO-Azerbaijan cooperation.
Moreover, Azerbaijan is among the eight partner countries that have confirmed their presence in Afghanistan after 2014. Peacekeepers of the country will stay in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of US troops from the country by the end of 2014. However, Azerbaijan will reduce its presence in Afghanistan after 2014.
The Azerbaijani peacekeeping contingent in Afghanistan consists of 90 servicemen. A company and then a battalion of peacekeepers were established as part of the Azerbaijani armed forces in 1997. Azerbaijani peacekeepers are part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.
In the past, Azerbaijan also actively supported the Alliance's operations in Kosovo.