Azernews.Az

BAKU – The newly appointed European Union special envoy for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, Philippe Lefort, will pay a visit to Azerbaijan on September 4-5 as part of his first tour of the region within his new mandate, according to the EU representation in the country.

"The EU attaches great importance to cooperation with the South Caucasus region and Azerbaijan," said head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Roland Kobia. "I am certain that with his expertise and in-depth knowledge of the region Ambassador Lefort will provide an important contribution to further develop contacts with government structures and civil society in the country, promote the regional cooperation on themes of common interest and contribute to the peaceful settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict [between Azerbaijan and Armenia]."

During his stay in Baku, Lefort is expected to meet the Azerbaijani president, the minister of defense, foreign ministry officials, parliament speaker and the chairman of the parliament's foreign affairs committee.

Lefort is a French diplomat of more than 20 years' experience. He has devoted large parts of his career to the Caucasus and Russia. He served as French Ambassador in Georgia from 2004-2007 and as Deputy Head of Mission at the French Embassy in Russia from 2007-2010. Since 2010, he has been the head of Continental Europe General Directorate at the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. In September 2011, Lefort started his duties as new EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus.