Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

The guarantee of security in Azerbaijan is coordination of efforts, information exchange and joint struggle against dangerous manifestations.

President Ilham Aliyev made the remark as he received participants of the 78th session of the CIS Council of Commanders of Border Troops, attended by the delegations from the member-states on October 18.

The head of state noted that the issues of strengthening security and state border protection for all CIS countries are of great importance.

"This is the basis for the security of our countries and peoples. And the normal and quiet life of our citizens depends on the successful activities of the services you manage. Therefore, of course, the sustainable, normal, and stable development of our countries largely depends on cooperation, exchange of information, interaction between you,” he said.

Noting that Azerbaijan pays much attention to the development of the border service infrastructure, the President said much has been done in recent years in terms of strengthening borders and providing modern equipment.

President Aliyev expressed regret on growing risks in CIS region and in general, in the world, thus calling for coordination of efforts, exchange of information and joint struggle against dangerous manifestations to ensure the security.

Ilham Aliyev said the situation is stable in Azerbaijan. “The country is successfully developing; there are no internal risks and potential threats.”

The issues of combating international terrorism occupy a dominant position in today's agenda, according to the President, noting that the fight against extremism, organized crime, drug trafficking are the most urgent topics almost at all international summits.

“All these are modern threats and challenges that our countries, naturally, should adequately answer. I am glad that in the CIS space, in general, the situation is quite stable. Specially in today's world, when very disturbing processes are taking place in many regions -- destabilization, internal conflicts, wars, and bloody clashes. Therefore, we must continue to strengthen safely of our countries and help to ensure that cooperation between our countries, including in the sphere that you are heading, is further strengthened,” he said.

The head of state expressed his confidence that the Council of Commanders will be held at a high level, and the issues to be discussed will lead to further strengthening the security of the CIS countries and strengthening the protection of borders.

“We are all interested in ensuring that our borders are reliably protected from those who want to harm us, but at the same time they were open to friends, tourists, businessmen, and those who just want to come and get acquainted with our countries,” he said.

Stressing that finding the balance in this situation is not an easy deal, President Aliyev said that “we in Azerbaijan strive for this.” He noted that the liberalization of the visa regime with many countries, and the fairly free access of foreign citizens from many countries to Azerbaijan led to a tangible growth of tourism, which this year grew by more than 20 percent, while last year even by 25 percent.

“At the same time, reliable security also suggests that a balance can be found. We are striving for this. Undoubtedly, without coordinating work with neighbors, with CIS member-countries, our long-time friends making this will be difficult for any country. So, we attach great importance to cooperation within the CIS in this sphere,” he said.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Director of the Russian Federal Security Service, Head of the Border Service, Vladimir Kulishov expressed gratitude to President Aliyev for the possibility of holding the 78th meeting of the Council of Commanders, the Executive Committee and the CIS Anti-Terrorist Center in Azerbaijan’s capital.

He further talked about the details of the meeting targeting to discuss the state and forecasts for the operational situation at the external borders of the Commonwealth states. The meeting is expected to sum up the results of the Council’s work in 2017 and plan the activities for 2018.

A number of issues related to the implementation of six national programs to combat cross-border crime and enhance border security will also be considered.

He stressed that these issues are of a purely applied nature and contribute to ensuring the security of our citizens, preventing and suppressing the channels for the movement of persons involved in international terrorist organizations, drug trafficking, illegal migration – that is everything that affects the security of our citizens and countries.

The 78th session of the CIS Council of Commanders of Border Troops took place in Baku on October 19.

Addressing the event, Chairman of the Coordination Service of the CIS Council of Border Troops Commanders Alexander Manilov said that the session’s agenda included nine main issues on strengthening the security of the member states’ borders.

The session ended with the signing of 25 documents.

"The majority of the documents concerned the outcome of discussions on the situation at the borders of the two countries, including the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan where there can be threats to the security of CIS countries. The sides agreed to cooperate and exchange information in the field of border security," he said.

The Russian Border Service deputy command added that the parties discussed organized crime, drug trafficking, migration processes at borders and other issues. The parties also raised the issue of training military officers in educational facilities in the CIS region.\

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