Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic is expected to arrive in Azerbaijan on Thursday for a first official visit. Four bilateral agreements, including a joint declaration on friendship and strategic partnership, are due to be signed during the three-day visit, Serbian Ambassador Zoran Vayovich said at a briefing in Baku on Tuesday.

According to Vayovich, it is planned to open a monument to great Serbian-American scientist Nikola Tesla in Baku and to launch an exhibition of well-known Yugoslav writer and diplomat Ivo Andric.

Vayovich added that Serbia and Azerbaijan support each other in the international arena. The principled position of the two countries on the rule of such principles of international law as territorial integrity and sovereignty remains unchanged.

"Two more new documents were added to the legal basis between the two countries in 2012," Vayovich said.

According to the ambassador, in January an agreement on economic and technological cooperation was signed to ensure broad opportunities for further economic cooperation between the two countries.

Also, an agreement on the Azerbaijani government's allocation of a loan worth 308 million euros to the Serbian government to construct the Corridor-11 section of the Lig Prelin road was signed in Baku in February, Vayovich said.

According to Vayovich, currently the legal basis between the two countries includes 21 international agreements establishing a framework of bilateral cooperation at various levels. Several projects covering various areas of cooperation - from law enforcement bodies' cooperation to agreements in the field of science and technology - are being actively worked upon.

Vayovich added that an effective meeting on trade and economic cooperation was held at the Serbian-Azerbaijani business forum in November 2012. A protocol of the commission on trade and economic cooperation was signed after the meeting.

A natural result of the ongoing Serbian-Azerbaijani dialogue is the active work of the Serbian-Azerbaijani intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation and the increased number of intensive contacts between the business circles of the two countries, which was a positive outcome of bilateral trade turnover, Vayovich said.

Trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $35 million in 2012.

Vayovich also noted that Serbia is interested in Azerbaijani gas and is ready to participate in the projects on Azerbaijani gas transportation to Europe.

According to Vayovich, Serbia has contracts on gas transportation with Russia, but is interested in diversification of routes including those from the Caspian Sea region.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in August 1997.

The diplomatic missions of Azerbaijan in Belgrade and of Serbia in Baku were raised to the level of embassies in 2010 and 2011, confirming the interest of the two countries in effective and dynamic cooperation.

The first official visit of Serbian President Boris Tadic to Azerbaijan in May 2010 emphasized the importance of intensive dialogue on the highest level and the establishment of special relations between the leaders of the two states. A reciprocal visit by an Azerbaijani delegation led by President Ilham Aliyev was made in 2011.

Starting in 2010 a number of meetings aiming to expand bilateral relations have been held; the two countries are developing their relations in the fields of politics, economics, culture and humanitarian assistance.

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