Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Participation of Austrian companies in Azerbaijan's important projects is a good example of developing ties between the two countries.

This remark was made by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at a meeting with an Austrian delegation led by Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs Sebastian Kurz on September 11.

The head of state expressed satisfaction with the level of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Austria.

President Aliyev also noted there are ample opportunities for further development of relations between the countries in political, economic, energy and other fields.

Kurz, for his part, expressed satisfaction with his first visit to Azerbaijan.

Noting that he was accompanied by a large delegation of businessmen, the Austrian minister said the visit created good opportunities for discussing the issues on the development of bilateral relations on various fronts, including political, economic and other fields.

As part of the visit to Baku, the Austrian delegation met with Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

The sides discussed a number of issues, including the existing regional conflicts.

The Austrian minister was informed in detail about the current state of negotiations to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the official position of Baku on the issue.

Kurz expressed hope for peaceful solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

After the meeting, the ministers held a press conference.

Mammadyarov said the economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Austria is strengthening and this is approved by the fact that the Austrian companies are functioning in Azerbaijan and vice versa.

Kurz said bilateral relations between the two countries are at a high level, and there is a good ground for further development of these relations.

"The current visit will give certain impetus to these ties", he underlined.

Kurz also noted Austria and Azerbaijan can become good partners.

Azerbaijan has good record in human rights

Commenting on the refusal of Azerbaijan to give a visa to the representative of Austrian media, Mammadyarov said the status of human rights in Azerbaijan is better than other countries of the region and even Europe.

"I advise Austrian journalists to think twice before accusing Azerbaijan of violating human rights and democratic values because the status of human rights in Azerbaijan is better than other countries of the region and even Europe. One of the fundamental principles of the EU is paying respect for the rule of law. If a journalist illegally visits the territory of another country, it is against the law," Mammadyarov said, pointing that the journalist visited Nagorno-Karabakh without Azerbaijan's permission.

"Everyone should respect the laws of other countries. Meanwhile, he or she should not hide behind the European institutions," Mammadyarov noted.

Kurz, in turn, acknowledged that the visit of the journalist to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan was illegal.

"I understand the concerns of the Azerbaijani side. The Austrian journalist's visit to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan was illegal," he said.

Azerbaijan refused to issue visa to Austrian journalist Jutta Bauer, who illegally visited Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku also added her name to the list of "persona non-grata" of Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in February, 1992. The legal framework for bilateral cooperation includes 38 documents.

There are over 50 Austrian companies operating in different fields of Azerbaijani economy.

Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Austria was about $333.46 million in the first eleven months of 2013, Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee reported.

Azerbaijan's imports from Austria amounted to $79.58 million, while exports to Austria amounted to $253.88 million during this period.