Azernews.Az

By Kamila Aliyeva

Estonia will support the development of relations between Azerbaijan and the EU within the framework of its presidency at the European Union, Foreign Minister of Estonia Sven Mikser said at a meeting with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

The meeting was held in Warsaw on the sidelines of the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Eastern Partnership member countries and the Visegrad Group, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported on April 12.

The ministers stressed the successful development of bilateral relations in various fields between Azerbaijan and Estonia and exchanged their views on the ways to further expand the cooperation.

The Estonian minister noted that he intends to visit Azerbaijan in the near future.

Mammadyarov, in turn, stated that the meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission was successfully held in Baku on April 7 of this year, and the discussions created new opportunities for cooperation in the fields of information technology, tourism, agriculture and other areas. He mentioned that the work on the draft Partnership Agreement is underway.

The minister also informed his interlocutor about the negotiations process on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and emphasized that in order to resolve the conflict and to create an environment for regional cooperation armed forces of Armenia have to withdraw from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

He also added the importance of applying unified approach by EU to the issue of territorial integrity and sovereignty of countries within their internationally recognized borders.

Touching upon East-West and North-South transport corridors, Mammadyarov noted that Estonian companies may also get benefited from the opportunities provided by these routes.

During the latest visit of the Estonian delegation to Baku officials of Estonian and Azerbaijani railway administrations, as well as an Estonian port signed a protocol on cooperation in creation of a new South-North logistics corridor, which will allow transporting cargo between Azerbaijan, Estonia and other Scandinavian countries.

To date, the Azerbaijani investment to Estonia stands at about $300,000-$400,000. In turn, Estonia has invested about $1 million in the economy of Azerbaijan.

Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Estonia was $541,130 in January-February 2017, 2.2 times more compared to the same period last year, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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