Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

A Foreign Affairs Committee delegation of the European Parliament, led by its Chair David McAllister, will travel to Azerbaijan on May 22-25, the EU Delegation in Baku told Trend on May 18.

The delegation will meet the country’s officials, representatives of political parties and civil society, and have negotiations on the new EU-Azerbaijan strategic partnership agreement.

South Caucasus is a region of great importance for the European Union and a major counterpart to the Eastern Partnership policy, said McAllister ahead of the visit.

“We share many interests, notably in terms of promoting peace, security and trade, and we also seek to uphold our values – especially democracy, rule of law, good governance, human rights and fundamental freedoms – as we seek to further deepen our partnerships,” he added.

The delegation will start its South Caucasus visit from Azerbaijan.

The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today.

The agreement will follow the principles endorsed in the 2015 review of the European Neighborhood Policy and offer a renewed basis for political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan.

The EU is Azerbaijan ́s biggest economic partner representing 44 percent of its total trade and providing the largest share of foreign direct investment to Azerbaijan.

The Union has repeatedly voiced support to Azerbaijan in its reform efforts, and aims at increasing networking and contacts between companies that will increase trade and economic activity even further.

The EU has 28 Member States with a total population of more than 500 million people and is hence, after China and India, the most populous region in the world.

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