Azernews.Az

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met the Special Representative for Caucasus, Central Asia and GUAM of Japanese Foreign Ministry, Takeshi Hikihara on Wednesday, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said, Trend news agency reported.

Mammadyarov expressed satisfaction with the level of development of Azerbaijani-Japanese relations, praised the bilateral political and economic ties and cooperation within international organizations.

The minister noted the great potential for further expansion of relations in various fields, including tourism, agriculture, ICT and irrigation.

Informing the Japanese delegation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Mammadyarov said that Armenia's unconstructive position and aggressive policy obstructs peace and stability in the region, and that the presence of Armenian armed forces in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is the main obstacle to a settlement of the conflict.

Hikihara noted that Japan attaches great importance to enhancing cooperation with Azerbaijan and emphasized the existence of opportunities for expansion of cooperation between the two countries.

Touching upon the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, he said that Japan supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and settlement of the conflict based on UN Security Council resolutions.

At the end of the meeting, Mammadyarov invited Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida to visit Azerbaijan.