Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has said that Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic have great potential for cooperation to rebuild Azerbaijani territories liberated from Armenia's occupation in 2020.

He made the remarks at a joint press conference with visiting Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek on September 30.

The minister noted that the negotiations will be held on attracting Czech investments and companies in this direction to Azerbaijan.

Bayramov noted that the sides discussed bilateral relations between the two countries.

Noting that a joint declaration on strategic partnership was signed between Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic in 2015, Bayramov added that a working group on economic areas continues to operate between the two countries.

"Azerbaijan provides a third of the Czech Republic's energy needs, we also cooperate in the fields of IT and transport. Moreover, the Czech side is interested in participating in the work in the Alat Free Economic Zone," he added.

Prosperity of South Caucasus

The Czech minister emphasized that the signing of a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia can ensure the prosperity of the South Caucasus.

"We support the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We also welcome the recent meeting between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia with the participation of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group," Kulhanek said.

He also expressed his condolences to the Second Karabakh War martyrs' families.

Underlining that Azerbaijan is fully complying with the points of the trilateral statement, Bayramov stated that no constructive steps by Armenia in some areas were seen.

Bayramov said that Azerbaijan has been working for over 10 months to implement the points of the trilateral statement. He also noted that there are still unresolved issues in some areas.

The foreign minister cited as one of the most important of these areas the failure to provide maps of minefields for eight months. He noted that the Armenian side handed over a small part of these maps of extremely poor quality.

"The fact that this process was not completed in violation of trilateral statements remains a serious obstacle. At the same time, not providing maps of the minefields slows down the restoration of these territories," Bayramov said.

Bayramov also stressed that Armenia has to make a choice, either territorial claims to its neighbors or constructive cooperation.

He stated that there had been no border delimitation and demarcation between Azerbaijan and Armenia for 30 years, because of Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijani territories.

"The border issue must be solved in a normal and civilized manner, the delimitation process must be carried out. Azerbaijan is constructive in this issue, but we see unconstructive steps taken by Armenia under various pretexts," the minister underlined.

"Azerbaijan approaches issues from the standpoint of international law. There is no alternative to this approach aimed at stability and development. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of states must be respected," he added.

Trade and mutual investment

Noting the joint declaration on strategic partnership dated 2015, the Czech minister underlined the need to intensify trade and mutual investments.

"Azerbaijan is not only a key energy supplier for the Czech Republic. I believe that as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we can significantly expand our bilateral relations," the minister said.

He noted that representatives of more than 17 Czech companies, operating in tourism, finance, banking, industry, and manufacturing, arrived in Baku with him.

"There is a great potential for bilateral cooperation in the areas of water and waste management, renewable energy, agriculture, and infrastructure," Kulhanek noted.

Noting that both countries continue to successfully develop cooperation in the energy sector, the minister noted that the signing of an agreement on cooperation in the energy sector is planned for today.

It should be noted that the two ministers also had a one-on-one and an expanded bilateral meeting.

The Czech minister paid an official visit to Azerbaijan on September 30. The minister was also received by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

--

Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz