Azernews.Az

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Military-technical cooperation of Azerbaijan and Belarus enjoys a good history, rather large volumes and a good tendency to expand.

Azerbaijan is among the leaders in the procurement of various types of weapons from Belarus. In the first place comes the purchase of tanks and artillery; in the second - armored vehicles, in the third - combat aircraft.

During his visit to the United Arab Emirates, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov, the Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan, met in Abu Dhabi with the Minister of Defense of Belarus, Lieutenant-General Andrei Ravkov on February 18, according to the press service of the ministry.

During the meeting, the parties noted the importance of developing cooperation in the military, military-technical and military-educational fields, and also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.

In the International Defense Exhibition IDEX-2019 framework, the Azerbaijani delegation got acquainted with military equipment and military products of the Belarusian defense industry, interest was shown in armaments and equipment capable of enhancing the combat capability of the Azerbaijani army.

During the exhibition, Hasanov met with the Chairman of the State Military-Industrial Committee of Belarus Roman Golovchenko.

The sides discussed the prospects of military and military-technical cooperation, the possibility of using modern military technology, as well as other issues of mutual interest.

The head of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry is visiting Abu Dhabi at the invitation of Vice President, Prime Minister and Defense Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

In addition, Hasanov also met with the Minister of State for Defense of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohamed Ahmed Albawardi Al Falasi on February 17.

Military-technical cooperation between Azerbaijan and Belarus evolved in 2005 when Azerbaijan received the first T-72 tanks. Since then, Minsk sent to Baku at least 153 T-72 tanks, nine self-propelled 2S7 ‘‘Pion’’ artillery systems of 203 mm caliber, 30 towed 152 mm D-20 howitzers, 11 Su-25 attack aircraft, and two ‘‘Buk-MB’’ battalions of anti-aircraft missile systems -MB ", as well as anti-tank missile systems" Skif "Ukrainian-Belarusian production (JSC" Peleng "supplies guidance system).

IDEX is the only international defence exhibition and conference in the Middle East and North Africa region demonstrating the latest technology across land, sea and air sectors of defence.

It is a unique platform to establish and strengthen relationships with government departments, businesses and armed forces throughout the region.

IDEX is held under the patronage of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President and Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and is organised by the IDEX LLC in association and with the full support of the UAE Armed Forces.

IDEX takes place biennially at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), which is centrally located in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

The IDEX exhibition takes over 100 percent of the state-of-the-art exhibition centre, utilising 133,000 square meters of event space.

---

Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz