Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan calls on the International Security Assistance Force to step up effort to reduce civilian casualties, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has told a ministerial of ISAF, a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan, according to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

"Increasing efforts to ensure treatment [of the population] consistent with the local cultural and religious traditions will significantly increase ISAF’s public approval in Afghanistan and in outside territories," Mammadyarov said at the meeting held in Brussels on Thursday.

He said the current situation in Afghanistan has a major impact on regional and global security.

"Based on the principle of indivisibility of security and taking into consideration its friendly relations with Afghanistan, Azerbaijan from the outset has been assisting in the process of establishing security, stability and prosperity there," Mammadyarov said.

He noted that the volume of goods and personnel transported to the country for ISAF operations through Azerbaijan’s territory and airspace has been increasing by the year.

"The experience of the past decade has shown that in order to achieve sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan, military assistance is not enough. In keeping with this, Azerbaijan continues making a contribution to its non-military cooperation with Afghanistan. Projects are being implemented to train Afghan civilian employees and military officers. ANAMA [the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action] has conducted trainings on mine clearance for Afghan specialists in both Afghanistan and Azerbaijan."

The minister said further that Baku shares the concern of Afghanistan and the international community over drug trafficking in the region. He said Azerbaijan could therefore participate in projects aiming to counter the inflow of drugs to be implemented with the coordination of Afghan government and joined by other interested countries.

Mammadyarov also said that as a country interested in Afghanistan’s economic development, Azerbaijan could work on investment projects to be proposed by Kabul.

"At the moment we have a number of private companies operating in Afghanistan and investing in this country," he added.