Azerbaijan's chairmanship in GUAM to bring co-op to higher level
Azerbaijan's chairmanship in the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, which brings together Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova, will be dynamic, informative, productive and bring the cooperation within the framework of the organization to a higher level, GUAM Secretary General Altay Efendiyev said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
The diplomat said that rendering comprehensive assistance to successful implementation of all the goals and objectives of the chairmanship will become his main priority on the new post.
He went on to add that his main priority in the longer term will become strengthening and increasing the capacity of the GUAM Secretariat as a coordinating body that can ensure consistency and continuity in the organization's activities, increase its dynamics.
“We will endeavor to further consolidate and promote the interests of the GUAM countries, expand and deepen their interaction, development of international cooperation,” he said.
The Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the GUAM, as part of the 25th Ministerial Council meeting, which took place May 15, 2015 in Bratislava, decided to appoint Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan in Spain Altay Efendiyev to the post of Secretary General of GUAM.
Altay Efendiyev took the post of secretary general on January 1,
2016, succeeding Georgian diplomat Valeri Chechelashvili.
The diplomat believes that the GUAM as an instrument of regional
cooperation should play a greater role in shaping an important
region as a zone of peace, stability and dynamic development.
“Azerbaijan, as a country with great economic potential, rich
energy resources, developed and modern transport and logistics
infrastructure, as a major regional hub located at the crossroads
of continents and major transportation and pipeline arteries, has
great advantages to consolidate and enhance its role and promote
its interests in line with the common interests of the GUAM
countries and beyond,” he said.
Efendiyev said that Azerbaijan stands out among other member
countries of the organization namely because of the above mentioned
reasons.
He also emphasized the successful cooperation of the parties in the
field of energy. He said that the importance of the GUAM Transport
Corridor increasingly grows.
“The Development Concept for the GUAM Transport Corridor adopted in
2013 within the framework of the organization creates a good basis
for cooperation in the field of transport,” he said. “The concept
has gained special urgency in connection with the development of
the so-called New Silk Road, which will significantly reduce the
time of delivery of goods from China to Europe.”
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