Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

The French embassy in Baku organized an official reception on June 14 on the occasion of the French national holiday – Bastille Day – a nationwide holiday that commemorates the anniversary of the liberation of France marked by the storming of Bastille.

Many officials, MPs, representatives of science and culture, ambassadors of foreign countries in Azerbaijan, as well as Rector of the Baku branch of Moscow State Lomonosov University and Doctor of Philology Professor Nargiz Pashayeva, and French ambassador to Azerbaijan Pascal Monnier attended the event.

The French ambassador addressed the ceremony, informing guests about the development of his country and its achievements in the economic and cultural spheres.

Discussing the bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and France, Monnier underlined that visits by French President Francois Hollande to Azerbaijan have created new opportunities for the development of cooperation in various fields between the two sides.

The ambassador touched upon the recently concluded 1st European Games in Baku, noting that Azerbaijan reached great success in hosting this significant sporting event. “France supported the European Games. We all witnessed the sporting celebration,” he said, adding that the French delegation of 250 people took fifth place in the overall standings.

Held between June 12 and 28, the European Games hosted more than 6,000 athletes from 50 countries competing in 20 sports.

The ambassador went on to note that 2015 was an important year for the whole world: “Finally, agreement on Iran's nuclear program has been reached.”

Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Sevda Mammadaliyeva congratulated the French people on behalf of the Azerbaijani government on this significant day.

She stressed that the relations between the two countries have deep historical roots, adding that cooperation in various fields, particularly in economic, political, educational, and cultural are still developing.

Mammadaliyeva expressed hope that France, as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, will contribute to the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with respect to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

For over two decades, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a conflict that emerged over Armenia's territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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