Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Today is a remarkable day in the history of our cooperation because we are opening a new chapter in our relations.

President Ilham Aliyev made the remark in a joint statement for the press with the European Council President Donald Tusk on February 6, as part of his visit to Brussels, Belgium to launch talks on a new EU-Azerbaijan trade and investment agreement.

The new framework agreement for EU and Azerbaijan ties will replace the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which came into force in 1999, and will guide relations in trade and investment as well as economic, legislative, and cultural cooperation.

“I wish success to negotiators and hope that they will not lose time and start immediately tomorrow, and will soon present a document, which will determine strategic cooperation between us for many years to come,” said President Aliyev.

In November 2016, the European Council adopted a mandate for the European Commission and the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy to negotiate on behalf of the EU and its member states, a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan.

Before launching the negotiations the sides have determined the composition of delegations for preparation of an agreement.

The president assessed the cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU as very fruitful, very sincere and having a big potential, mentioning that the two sides have good experience in cooperating with the EU member states.

“With nine of them - one third of the member states – we have already signed documents on strategic partnership. This is a good basis for future agreements between the EU and Azerbaijan,” he said.

Azerbaijan and the EU tomorrow [February 7] will start the negotiations on the new agreement, said President Aliyev.

“We have a very active political dialogue, we meet regularly and discuss important issues of political development, political reforms in our country. We are committed to continuing democratic reforms in Azerbaijan in order to provide better opportunities for all the citizens of our country,” President Aliyev said.

He added that the energy cooperation is an important part of the Azerbaijan-EU cooperation.

New pipelines that would carry Azerbaijani gas to Europe remained one of the main topics discussed in Belgium.

“We successfully cooperate on the promotion of the Southern Gas Corridor project, which is one of the biggest infrastructure projects now implemented in Europe, the project which needs more than $40 billion of investment. The Southern Gas Corridor is a project of energy security and energy diversification. When I am saying diversification, I mean not only routes, but also sources,” he said.

The president went on to add that Azerbaijan with its huge natural gas deposits is a new alternative source for natural gas for the European market.

“I informed Mr. President that the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor, all the four segments of the project are moving successfully. Hopefully, with additional efforts we will speed up the implementation of this project,” President Aliyev said. “As Mr. President said, Europe is our main investor. Azerbaijan created a very good investment climate. More than $200 billion has been invested in our economy since restoration of our independence 25 years ago. Also Europe is our main trading partner. We supply many European countries with oil, and hopefully very soon we will supply them with natural gas.”

President Aliyev added that the sides discussed the future potential of cooperation in the area of transportation, which could be attractive to countries of the Eastern Partnership, and other European countries.

“Azerbaijan invested largely in the creation of the new railroad connection in the region. Hopefully, this year the new route connecting Asia with Europe will be in operation, which will two times shorten the time of cargo movement from Europe to Asia and in opposite direction,” he emphasized.

Another important part of the cooperation is intercultural dialogue, President Aliyev said, adding that he is grateful to Tusk for mentioning that Azerbaijan largely invests in the dialogue between civilizations and cultures.

“We are a country, which is a member of the Council of Europe and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation at the same time. And we are a natural, geographical and cultural bridge between civilizations. Azerbaijan's investment in human capital, inter-faith dialogue today brings good results,” he said.

He went on to say that the sides discussed the issues of resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“I once again mentioned that for many years our lands have been under occupation. Armenia occupied almost 20 percent of the territory of Azerbaijan, violated all the humanitarian norms, and norms of international law,” he said.

He went on to add that Armenia doesn't implement the four resolutions of the UN Security Council adopted in the beginning of the 1990s, which demand an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian troops from Azerbaijan's territories.

“Unfortunately, occupation lasts for more than twenty years, and this occupation cannot be justified. I am very grateful to Mr. President that in his comments he once again expressed support for the territorial integrity of our country,” the president stressed.

In turn, Tusk said that Azerbaijan is an important partner for the EU, whose independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity they support.

“We want to build on our reliable and strategic partnership in the energy field. Azerbaijan is important for Europe's energy security and diversification of supplies. We have a shared commitment to finalize the Southern Gas Corridor; in fact, it is a key priority for both sides,” said the president of the European Council.

He said that the EU is already Azerbaijan's main trading partner and one of its most important investors.

“We intend to expand these commercial relations further in the coming years. We discussed how our strengthened cooperation will help modernize and diversify the Azerbaijani economy. For Azerbaijan to move forward in the WTO talks would pave the way for a competitive business environment that would drive our economic integration,” he added.

As part of his visit to Belgium, President Aliyev held talks with EU officials on issues including a new partnership agreement between Baku and the European Union. He met with European Council President Donald Tusk, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, President of the European Commission Jean Claude Juncker and King Philippe of the Belgians, EU Energy Minister Maros Sefcovic, and other top EU officials on February 6.

At the meeting between President Aliyev and Mogherini, the EU foreign policy chief hailed the role of this project in ensuring Europe's energy security and diversifying gas supplies, adding that the EU will continue to support the implementation of this project.

President Aliyev, for his part, said bilateral ties between the country and organization had developed since Mogherini`s visit to Azerbaijan. The president noted that the expansion of cooperation with the EU is a good message both for Azerbaijan and the region, and described the EU as a reliable friend and partner for Azerbaijan. The sides hailed mutual trust between Azerbaijan and the EU.

During the meeting with Claude Juncker, the sides stressed economic and export diversification as a priority issue in Azerbaijan, exchanged views over cooperation in the field of energy and transport, as well as on a number of issues of mutual interest.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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