Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

Director of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Actions (ANAMA) Nazim Ismayilov visited NATO headquarters in Brussels on November 7-8.

On the first day of his visit, the ANAMA Director addressed the NATO Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council meeting.

Ismayilov highlighted the Agency's projects, particularly the first stage of the ongoing Jeyranchol Partnership for Peace (JPP) Trust Fund carried out jointly with NATO.

The second stage of the JPP Trust Fund was officially launched on the sidelines of the event.

The ANAMA Director also held a number of high level meetings with the NATO Integration, Partnership, Cooperation and Operations Offices, as well as the NATO Permanent Representatives.

The meetings featured discussions on the ANAMA's national and international activities, including its contributions to international projects and its further participation in future projects.

NATO Officials hailed ANAMA's comprehensive activities, and lauded the organization's interest in continuous partnership.

ANAMA was established in 1998 under the State Commission for Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of war affected territories. Being responsible for planning and coordination, management and monitoring of mine action related activities all over the country, ANAMA is the executing agency for the Azerbaijan Mine Action Programme, the joint project of the Government of Azerbaijan and UNDP signed on April 2, 1999. The Agency operates according to the Azerbaijan National Strategic Plan and ANAMA Principles.

The main goal of the organization is to create a national mine action capacity capable of planning, coordinating and managing all mine/UXO related activities in the currently liberated areas, and enable it to expand into areas yet to be liberated.

As a part of non-military contribution to Afghanistan, ANAMA held several trainings for the representatives of Afghan Department of Mine Clearance and donated books about combating mine accidents to the Afghan schools. In regards to the Georgia III PfP Trust Fund, ANAMA also held training for the relevant representatives of the country. Similar training was held for the Turkish, Tajik and Jordanian experts.

NATO and Azerbaijan are actively cooperating on democratic, institutional, and military reforms, as well as conducting practical cooperation in other areas.

The cooperation plan between Azerbaijan and the NATO is set out in the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) on Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan aspires to achieve Euro-Atlantic standards and get closer to Euro-Atlantic institutions. In this regard, supporting the security sector reform and establishing democratic institutions are the key elements of the NATO-Azerbaijan cooperation.

Azerbaijan is among the eight partner countries that have confirmed their presence in Afghanistan after 2014. Peacekeepers of the country will stay in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of US troops from the country by the end of 2014. Azerbaijan, however, will reduce its presence in Afghanistan after 2014.

In the past, Azerbaijan also actively supported the operations of the alliance in Kosovo.