Azerbaijani, Hungarian FMs meet in Brussels
By Gunay Hasanova
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjártó on the sideline of the NATO Resolute Support Mission Ministerial Meeting held at the NATO Headquarters.
The sides expressed their satisfaction with the development of relations between Azerbaijan and Hungary.
The ministers exchanged views on the prospects of relations, cooperation within the international organizations between the two countries and the activity of the Hungarian Embassy in Azerbaijan as NATO Contact Point Embassy from the next year.
The Hungarian embassy in Baku will operate as a NATO Liaison Office for two years - from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2018. The Hungarian side will take over these responsibilities from the Romanian Embassy in Baku.
NATO and Azerbaijan actively cooperate on democratic, institutional and defense reforms, and have developed practical cooperation in many other areas. Azerbaijan’s Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) lays out the programme of cooperation between Azerbaijan and NATO.
Hungary recognized Azerbaijan's independence in 1991, and diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in April 1992.
The two countries enjoy a huge capacity for the development of trade and economic cooperation, as Hungarian companies consider the Azerbaijani market as an alternative to the Russian market, on the background of EU sanctions. Hungary is also a good platform for Azerbaijani investors.
So far, the two countries have signed almost 40 documents. Moreover, the governments of both countries have expressed interest in increasing bilateral trade.
The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Hungary in 2015 totaled $27.96 million, of which over $27.7 million accounted for the import of Hungarian products, according to Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee.
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Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova
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