Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

President Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by EU Commissioner for the European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn on June 16, who is on a visit to Baku to participate in the process of negotiations on a new agreement on strategic partnership between the EU and Azerbaijan.

Recalling with satisfaction his last visit to Brussels in February, the head of state said that fruitful discussions and negotiations were held within the framework of this visit, and stressed that these talks once again demonstrated a unified approach to further expansion of cooperation.

Noting that the EU is a reliable partner of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev stressed that the ties between the two are of a strategic nature and are designed for many years. He brought to the attention that the cooperation between the two sides continues in conditions of stability and security.

Noting that the agenda of the cooperation with the EU covers extensive issues such as political dialogue, economic cooperation, energy and other spheres, President Aliyev stressed Azerbaijan's readiness to make efforts for further expansion of the relations.

Hahn touching upon the last visit of President Aliyev to Brussels, noted that the visit was successful, adding that it was after this visit that negotiations on a partnership agreement between Azerbaijan and the EU began, and that negotiations continue in a constructive spirit.

The EU Commissioner said that the EU is interested in stability in neighboring countries, and Azerbaijan plays an important role from this point of view in the region and on a wider area.

During the meeting, issues of simplifying the visa regime between Azerbaijan and the EU, as well as the current state of cooperation in the field of energy and transport, were discussed, and good prospects in these areas were underlined. The meeting also exchanged views on regional issues.

Country's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov also received a delegation led by Hahn, where the sides held a comprehensive discussion on the next round of Partnership Agreement negotiations between the two sides. They expressed their hope that the draft of partnership agreement will be finalized by EU’s Eastern Partnership Summit to be held in the end of the year. It was also stated that the next round of negotiation is scheduled to be held in July 2017.

Development perspectives of the EU-Azerbaijan relations, as well as issues of mutual interests were discussed at the meeting.

Mammadyarov stressed that holding the draft agreement negotiations in constructive and intensive manner is a positive sign. He also added that political and trade aspects of the draft agreement were discussed at the current round of negotiations.

Furthermore, he briefed guests about the negotiation process on the settlement of Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh conflict, which remains main threat for the entire region. He added that existence of military forces of Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and Armenian policy to maintain status quo, which is based on occupation, doesn’t allow achieving progress in the conflict resolution process.

The Minister stressed the importance of a unified approach by EU with respect to the resolution of protracted conflicts based on the principles of respecting to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states within internationally recognized borders, as it is enshrined in the Global Strategy of EU.

In turn, Hahn pointed out that pragmatic and practical cooperation does exist between Azerbaijan and the EU in the fields of transport, trade, connectivity and energy.

As part of his trip Hahn visited the Baku International Sea Trade Port. He noted that "the Baku port has the potential to become the central transport and logistical hub of Eurasia."

Azerbaijan also hosted another EU representative, Director for Russia, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia and OSCE at the European External Action Service (EEAS) Luc Devigne, who was visiting the county within next round of negotiations on Azerbaijan-European Union partnership agreement.

The delegation met with Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, where the sides expressed their satisfaction with the constructive and intensive pace of negotiations on the draft partnership agreement. It was noted that at this round of negotiations main focus of discussions was political and trade issues.

They expressed their hope that as a result of the talks conducted in an atmosphere of mutual understanding the draft partnership agreement will be finalized by the Summit Meeting of the European Union Eastern Partnership countries to be held at the end of this year.

At the meeting the sides also exchanged views on the current status of relations and prospective development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU. It was noted that recently held Azerbaijan – EU Business Forum provided new opportunities for further development of mutually beneficial economic, trade and investment cooperation.

The sides expressed confidence that during the visit of Johannes Hahn, the Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, fruitful discussions will be held on various aspects of Azerbaijan-EU cooperation with a particular focus on transport, trade, connectivity issues.

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 in November 2016.

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 new agreement envisages the compliance of Azerbaijan’s legislation and procedures with the EU’s most important international trade norms and standards, which should lead to the improvement of Azerbaijani goods’ access to the EU markets.