Azernews.Az

BAKU – NATO’s new strategic concept allows to develop cooperation with Azerbaijan, its senior official has said on a visit to Baku.

"We have all the means and tools available to expand our bilateral cooperation under the NATO concept," Brigadier General Carlos Branco, NATO’s chief of regional security and cooperation, told journalists at a function of the NATO International School of Azerbaijan (NISA) on Monday.

Branco said the bloc’s cooperation with the country has been effective. He said several joint projects are currently being implemented.

"We hope for the expansion of our cooperation with Azerbaijan during the implementation of the ongoing and new projects," Branco said.

NATO has financed a summer school in Baku since 2003. The program has been expanding by the year, resulting in the establishment of NISA in 2005. The topics of the workshops include trans-Atlantic energy security and regional security issues.

"In the past two years NISA has turned into NATO’s most influential tool in Azerbaijan, and its activity is crucial for comprehending the alliance’s role," said Romanian Ambassador Nikolae Ureche, who heads NATO’s coordinating mission in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan forged relations with the alliance by joining the North Atlantic Council in 1992. Baku’s cooperation with Brussels was boosted in 1994 with the country’s joining NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) program. Also, the South Caucasus republic is collaborating with the bloc within the NATO Individual Partnership Plan. IPAP, signed in 2005, envisions improvements in the military field and other areas, and its second stage is currently underway.