Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

The successful development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Czech Republic is high on the agenda of talks in Baku, as a delegation led by the chairman of the House of Deputies of the Czech Parliament visits the country.

The Czech delegation led by Jan Hamacek arrived in Baku on March 13 to mull issues of mutual interest in a number of areas.

The delegation was received by President Ilham Aliyev, who said that this visit created a good opportunity for reviewing the issues of mutual interest, giving impetus to the bilateral relations and discussing work to be done in the future.

Extending Czech President Milos Zeman`s greetings to President Aliyev, Hamacek said there were good contacts between the heads of state.

Hailing the high-level bilateral ties, he noted that both presidents made considerable contribution to the development of relations.

The Czech official also pointed to good cooperation between the parliaments of Azerbaijan and Czech Republic.

Saying he last visited Azerbaijan during the European Games in Baku, the chairman congratulated the country and personally President Aliyev on the excellent organization of the Games in such a short period of time.

Emphasizing that Baku had already become the European sports capital, he described the Formula 1 racing to be held in the country as another sign of this.

President Aliyev, in turn, emphasized the importance of holding the Formula 1 racing in Baku, and highlighted preparations for the event. The head of state said the racing was equal to the Summer Olympic Games in terms of the size of the audience, expressing confidence that the event would increase interest in Azerbaijan.

The sides further discussed the current state of talks on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as the issue of the expansion of the bilateral relations in a number of areas, including energy, banking sector, agriculture and tourism.

Talking to journalists over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Hamacek stressed that the Czech Republic supports peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“The Czech Republic respects all the resolutions in connection with the conflict adopted by the UN and other international organizations,” he said, adding that his country is ready to participate in the settlement of the conflict.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

He went on saying that Azerbaijan is the main supplier of oil to the Czech Republic, stressing that the country is ready to deliver a variety of products, including automobiles and industrial complexes to Azerbaijan, as well as to cooperate in the field of railway construction.

Noting that the political ties between the two sides are at the high level, Hamacek informed the journalists that the country intends to take the economic cooperation with Azerbaijan to the highest level.

“We appreciate the strategic partnership between the Czech Republic and Azerbaijan and intend to further develop bilateral relations, including between the parliaments of our countries,” he said.

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

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