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Azerbaijan, Russia to improve bilateral military cooperation

15 June 2016 14:32 (UTC+04:00)
Azerbaijan, Russia to improve bilateral military cooperation

By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov has met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoygu on the sidelines of the 70th meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS held in Moscow.

Shoygu hailed all-round relations between Azerbaijan and Russia, including military one. He praised the military and technical cooperation between the two countries, saying “Our military cooperation has a strategic character, as all other types of cooperation between our countries.”

The Russian minister voiced hope for the further improvement of the two countries’ relations. “I think there is a potential for the growth and development. Of course, we will do everything to further develop our strategic partnership and friendly ties,” he said.

Moreover, Shoygu congratulated his Azerbaijani counterpart on the occasion of Azerbaijan's National Salvation Day.

Hasanov also hailed the military cooperation between the two countries, and invited the Russian minister to visit Azerbaijan.

"We have a good plan of the bilateral military cooperation," said Hasanov, "These are the issues of training of our future officers."

Hasanov mentioned that almost 90 officers of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces will start education at the Russian military universities in 2016. He noted that currently 72 people from Azerbaijan study in those institutions. “We expect it will be 88 in the next year,” he added.

During the meeting, the two ministers also discussed the issues of international security, including in the South Caucasus and the Caspian region.

The Azerbaijani-Russian cooperation is completely based on the principles of mutual respect and good neighborly relations. Being long-time partners, Russia and Azerbaijan are keen to continue developing multilateral cooperation in the future.

To date, Russia has invested over $1.8 billion in Azerbaijan's economy, while Azerbaijan has invested over $1 billion in the Russian economy. Today, more than 600 companies with Russian capital operate in Azerbaijan.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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