Azernews.Az

BAKU – A senior Pentagon official paid a short visit to Azerbaijan on Tuesday that the US embassy said aimed to boost cooperation in countering security threats.

The head of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Kenneth Myers, attended the opening of a $1 million laboratory of the defense ministry in Baku. No other details of the visit were disclosed, including issues that the Pentagon official discussed with Azerbaijani officials.

According to the US embassy in Baku, the laboratory, which aims to monitor epidemic diseases, was constructed with US government assistance within the framework of bilateral cooperation supported by the US Department of Defense Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP).

US Ambassador Matthew Bryza told the opening that the lab was "a symbol" of expanding US-Azerbaijani cooperation, adding that the U.S. was ready to support its Azerbaijani partners’ efforts to improve healthcare.

The newly built center will pursue such key goals as identifying and exercising control over hazardous infections and countering bio-terrorism threats with the use of advanced equipment.

So far, ten Epidemic Monitoring Stations have been built across Azerbaijan for the country’s veterinary service, health and defense ministries with US assistance.

Azerbaijani analysts have stressed the importance of Myers’ visit. Elkhan Shahinoglu, the head of Baku-based Atlas research center, said such a high-ranking Pentagon official has not visited Azerbaijan for a long time, which indicates that there is an impetus for Baku to continue its military cooperation with Washington.

"The Pentagon is interested in cooperating with Azerbaijan," Shahinoglu said. "The political and military circles in America consider Azerbaijan a key state in the region. And they know that there are potential threats to Azerbaijan -- from the north, from the south. I think that [US-Azerbaijani] meetings could somewhat intensify in the future."

The analyst added that during Myers’ talks in Baku, the developments ongoing in Arab countries and ‘frozen’ conflicts are likely to have been discussed.