Azerbaijan, U.S. can improve cooperation
By Rashid Shirinov
Azerbaijan and the United States have many fields for cooperation, Ben Hodgers, commanding general of the US Army to Europe, told journalists on May 26 during his visit to Baku.
Hodgers noted that the Azerbaijani and American soldiers implement their peacekeeping actions in Afghanistan.
He said that it is planned to hold some exercises with Azerbaijani soldiers in Romania this summer. Hodgers added that Azerbaijan's continuing the support for operations in Afghanistan shows that the country is interested in security and stability.
In recent years, Azerbaijan has been actively participating in the NATO peacekeeping missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Azerbaijan and NATO cooperate within the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program.
The PfP is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union. 22 states are the members of the program. Azerbaijan joined the PfP on May 4, 1994.
NATO builds relationships with partners through military-to-military cooperation on training, exercises, disaster planning and response, science and environmental issues, professionalization, policy planning, and relations with civilian government.
NATO approved the fourth phase of the individual actions plan of the PfP for 2015-2016. Meetings in Baku and Brussels are held on the analysis of the implementation of activities and objectives of the partnership.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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