Azerbaijan makes comprehensive contribution to Afghanistan’s long-term development
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijan plays an important part in regional security and stability, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev made the remark at the NATO summit's meeting on Afghanistan on September 4.
The NATO summit is underway in the city of Newport, Wales on September 4-5. Delegates from the NATO member states and ISAF partner countries, the UN and other international organizations are participating in the event.
"Over the 20 years of cooperation between Azerbaijan and NATO, our country has turned into a reliable partner contributing to a number of the Alliance's activities," the president said.
The head of state further stressed that the biggest threat to the security of the region is posed by the policy of aggression pursued by Armenia, which keeps 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts, under occupation.
"Armenia has carried out a policy of ethnic cleansing against the Azerbaijanis, as a result of which more than a million people have become refugees and internally displaced persons. Four UN Security Council resolutions demand an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories. Unfortunately, Armenia continues to flout them and the conflict remains unresolved," he said.
President Aliyev underscored that the conflict must be resolved on the basis of international law and the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
"We appreciate NATO's position on this issue, as well as its unreserved support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan voiced at previous summits. We firmly believe that NATO's commitment to such an important part of international law will be continued in the future. Thus, it will make an explicit contribution to the restoration of justice and prevent the spread of the misperception regarding the possibility of a forcible change of internationally recognized borders," he said.
President Aliyev went on to say that Azerbaijan is making a comprehensive contribution to ensuring the long-term development of Afghanistan.
Azerbaijan is one of the five NATO partners to be contributing to all three focus areas of this summit. Azerbaijan's military personnel have been part of the ISAF contingent since its early days, President Aliyev noted.
"Extensive training programs are conducted for Afghanistan's law-enforcement and government officials at different academies in Azerbaijan. A total of 3 million euros has been transferred into the Fund of Trustees of Afghanistan's National Army, while 1 million euros was spent on strengthening operations. The transit of 40 percent of non-destructive goods intended for ISAF forces is provided by Azerbaijan," he said.
In addition, President Aliyev said, the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which will create important transit opportunities within the framework of the "Resolute Support" program the country will join in the future, will be commissioned in the coming months.
"Coupled with the biggest in the Caspian region Azerbaijan International Seaport, this railway will open up extensive trade and economic opportunities both for the region and Afghanistan. It will also benefit Afghanistan, which is located at the center of the route linking the Far East with Europe," he said.
As a country that has completed a transition from a period of stagnation and crisis in the early years of independence to one of stability and rapid economic development, Azerbaijan is ready to share its experience with Afghanistan and contribute to various reconstruction and investment projects in this country, the president summarized.
The agenda of the summit includes crisis in Ukraine, Afghanistan's future, tackling new threats, strengthening support for the Armed Forces, strengthening partnerships, Iraq and Syria crisis.
NATO and Azerbaijan are actively cooperating on democratic, institutional, and military reforms, as well as conducting practical cooperation in various 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 reform in the security sector and establishing democratic institutions are the key elements of the NATO-Azerbaijan cooperation.
The Azerbaijani peacekeeping contingent in Afghanistan doubled in 2009. Currently, some 90 Azerbaijani servicemen are serving in ISAF. A company and then a battalion of peacekeepers were established as part of the Azerbaijani armed forces in 1997.
In the past, Azerbaijan has also actively supported the NATO's operations in Kosovo.