Azernews.Az

Azerbaijani Defence Minister Col-Gen Zakir Hasanov and his Latvian counterpart Artis Pabriks have signed a military cooperation accord, the ministry reported on April 26.

Hasanov and Pabriks signed an "Agreement on Defence Cooperation between the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia" as part of the latter’s official visit to Azerbaijan.

Welcoming the delegation, Hasanov briefed the guests on the activities carried out in Azerbaijan’s liberated territories following the victory over Armenia in the 44-day war in 2020.

The minister stressed that Azerbaijan-Latvia military cooperation is fulfilled within various NATO programs, as well as in bilateral formats in line with the friendly and constantly developing relations.

Pabriks thanked for the warm welcome and said that the two countries have good relations and that Latvia is an important partner of Azerbaijan in European security institutions, particularly NATO.

He stressed that Latvian specialists are always ready to take part in demining Azerbaijan’s liberated territories.

The parties discussed the strengthening of military ties between Azerbaijan and Latvia, as well as their perspectives on the regional military-political situation, security challenges, and future cooperation potential.

Earlier, President Ilham Aliyev received Latvian Defence Minister Artis Pabriks.

The meeting praised the development of Azerbaijan-Latvia relations and emphasized the importance of high-level reciprocal visits. The parties focused on potential areas of cooperation in economics, trade, investment, and transportation.

They cited Azerbaijan-NATO ties as an example. Aliyev's visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels last year, his meeting with Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, and his speech at a North Atlantic Council meeting were all mentioned, and Azerbaijan's participation in NATO's "Resolute Support" mission in Afghanistan was emphasized.

The parties also praised the successful development of Azerbaijan-European Union relations, emphasizing the significance of the European Union's Eastern Partnership Summit last year.

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