Azerbaijan, Croatia cooperate to demine liberated lands
By Ayya Lmahamad
Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has said that Baku and Zagreb are cooperating to demine Azerbaijani territories liberated from Armenia's occupation in 2020.
He made the remarks during the joint press conference with Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman, who is on an official visit to Azerbaijan, on October 20.
The minister stated that Azerbaijan receives appropriate demining equipment from Croatia. He stressed that the two countries will continue cooperation in this direction.
Cooperation to rebuild Karabakh
Bayramov stated that the participation of Croatian companies in Karabakh's rehabilitation has been discussed.
He noted that there is great potential for the development of Azerbaijani-Croatian economic ties.
"During today's meeting, there was an exchange of views on the issue of attracting Croatian companies to the reconstruction on Azerbaijan’s liberated territories. In this regard, Croatia has already submitted a number of proposals to Azerbaijan's relevant agencies," the minister said.
Speaking about ties with Armenia, he emphasized that Azerbaijan demonstrates a constructive stance on the normalization of relations.
He added that Azerbaijan is fulfilling its obligations to open communications in Karabakh, noting that Armenia "must also take effective steps in this direction".
Bilateral cooperation
The Azerbaijani and Croatian foreign ministries have agreed to hold political consultations.
Bayramov stated that their meeting with the Croatian counterpart on October 20 also focused on bilateral and multilateral cooperation with Azerbaijan.
He stated that the work on the coordination of seven documents between Azerbaijan and Croatia is underway.
"Seven documents are currently being negotiated, and they will enter into force in the near future," the minister said.
In turn, Gordan Grlic Radman emphasized that Azerbaijan is a strategic partner of Croatia. He noted that Croatia is interested in strengthening ties with Azerbaijan both in the political and economic spheres.
"There is potential to expand cooperation between the two countries in the areas of tourism, information technology and others. We also want Azerbaijan and Croatia to increase the volume of mutual investments," he said.
The visiting delegation led by the Croatian foreign and European affairs minister is on a visit to Azerbaijan. The Croatian minister was also received by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on October 19.
The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Croatia amounted to $549.4 million in the first nine months of 2021. In addition, the volume of turnover between the two countries amounted to $473.2 million in 2020.
--
Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz