Azernews.Az

By Araz Said

The fourth meeting of the heads of Azerbaijani diplomatic missions was held at the new facility of the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy in Baku last week with the participation of President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva.

Addressing the meeting, President Aliyev devoted much attention to Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Armenia. The main challenge facing the country and related to foreign policy is the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, he said.

"This is the main question facing not only our foreign policy, but also the country as a whole. ... Diplomatic efforts continue. Embassies take purposeful actions in this direction. The number of our friends and friendly countries in the world is increasing. International organizations have adopted quite fair resolutions ensuring our interests on Nagorno-Karabakh -- four resolutions of the UN Security Council [urging an unconditional pullout of Armenian armed forces from the Azerbaijani occupied territories], OSCE decisions, resolutions of other international organizations -- the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, the Non-Aligned Movement, the NATO decisions. The legal framework is broad, firm and indestructible.

"To resolve the conflict, first of all, the legal framework must be strong. Armenia's position on this matter is very weak, but our position is very strong."

The Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia levelled territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The two countries fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a precarious cease-fire in 1994. Armenian armed forces have since occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno Karabakh, defying international calls and the UN resolutions. Peace talks, brokered by the United States, Russia and France through the OSCE Minsk Group, have been largely fruitless so far.

President Aliyev noted further that Azerbaijan's election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in October 2011 was the biggest political and diplomatic victory in Azerbaijani history.

Khojaly genocide recognition

The president said another key issue for Baku's foreign policy is international recognition of the Khojaly genocide -- which was committed by Armenian armed forces in 1992 during the Karabakh war.

"I think we have been pursuing a very successful policy in this area, and in a short time, the parliaments of three countries recognized the massacre in Khojaly as genocide. Khojaly monuments are now being erected in other countries...Our ambassadors and representatives of embassies should raise the issue whenever possible. The Khojaly genocide issue must be raised in the legislatures of the countries where our embassies operate. We must strive for this genocide to be recognized on different levels.

"I am sure that in the future other countries will join Mexico, Pakistan and Colombia, and the Khojaly genocide will be recognized there. And a time will come when the people who committed the genocide will be held legally accountable," Aliyev said.

High demand for Azeri investments

President Aliyev also mentioned that Azerbaijan is making changes to its investment policy.

"We have started to invest abroad," he said. "Of course, this process began with the countries of the region, but there is a growing need for our investments in the world. In particular, the countries affected by the [economic] crisis have a great need for financial resources. We can offer these financial resources on acceptable terms. Thus, investments, loans, and new forms of economic cooperation are already in use. Ambassadors also have to be more active in this area."

Promotion of cultural heritage

President Aliyev said some countries "believe that Azerbaijan has gained its place on the world map over the past 20 years".

"It is so on the global political map," he said. "But we have been present on the world map for centuries. Our ancient culture, history, art are our national treasure. We need to promote this heritage, to present it to the world. In this regard, embassies are very significant. Now work has begun to establish culture services at the embassies. This is also a very successful initiative."

Azerbaijan has 55 embassies, 5 representative offices, missions to 18 international organizations and 9 general consulates abroad. Also, the country hosts embassies of 53 countries, 3 general consulates, 12 honorary consulates and representative offices of 20 international organizations.

New embassies have been established in Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Serbia, Libya, Estonia and Croatia, and a Consulate General in Batumi, Georgia. At the same time, embassies of Hungary, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Argentina, Brazil, Czech Republic, Morocco, Netherlands, and honorary consulates of other countries have been opened in Azerbaijan.