Azerbaijan, OSCE inks MoU
By Sara Rajabova
The Government of Azerbaijan and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the Baku Project Coordinator.
The document was signed during a meeting of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov with OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported.
The two officials met within the 69th session of the UN General Assembly on September 24. They discussed the issues on the cooperation between Azerbaijan and the OSCE.
The sides exchanged views on the projects submitted by the OSCE Project Coordinator's Office in Baku.
Mammadyarov also informed about the current state of Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan, and negotiation process.
The status of OSCE Baku Office was replaced by the status of the OSCE Project Coordinator beginning from January. The decision was taken on July 26, 2013 by the OSCE Permanent Council.
The Project Coordinator implement the following tasks based on the decision: supporting cooperation between Azerbaijan's government and the OSCE and its institutions aimed at implementing OSCE principles and commitments; planning and implementing projects between the relevant authorities of Azerbaijan and the OSCE; maintaining contacts with governmental and non-governmental bodies, local authorities, universities, research institutions, and NGOs; performing other tasks deemed appropriate by the Chairperson-in-Office or other OSCE institutions and agreed upon between the Azerbaijan government and the OSCE.
The OSCE Office in Baku launched its operations in the country on July 17, 2000.