NATO committed to cooperation with Azerbaijan
By Sara Rajabova
The long-term cooperation between Azerbaijan and NATO was highlighted during an event held by the Romanian Embassy in Baku.
The embassy has organized a reception on December 15 dedicated to completion of the first year of the fourth mandate of NATO’s Contact Point, realized by Romania’s Embassy in Azerbaijan.
The event started with observing a minute of silence in memory of victims of the tragedy on an oil platform of the Gunashli field.
Afterwards, Romania’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan Daniel Cristian Ciobanu addressed the event , saying that Romania was the second country to recognize Azerbaijan's independence.
Then, the diplomat spoke about the activities implemented by Romania as NATO’s Contact Point in Azerbaijan and expressed his gratitude to the NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division in Brussels and Liaison Office in Tbilisi.
The diplomat said in 2016 the embassy will continue to provide information on the activities of NATO.
Romania fulfills the mandate of NATO Contact Point Embassy in the Azerbaijan for the fourth time in a row and vowed to continue its efforts for promoting the benefits of NATO-Azerbaijan partnership.
The event was also addressed by NATO’s Liaison Officer in the South Caucasus William Lahue, who stressed that NATO will continue cooperation with Azerbaijan.
Lahue said the individual plan of cooperation between Azerbaijan and NATO has been approved by the headquarters of NATO and the countries of the Alliance.
He added that the approval of this plan allows starting the next phase of cooperation. "The scopes of our cooperation have not changed. The cooperation includes the individual trainings and participation in missions."
Lahue also noted that Azerbaijan is a strong partner of NATO in Afghanistan, the country holds training for the military and representatives of the Afghan government.
He further stressed that the partnership between NATO and Azerbaijan will only grow stronger.
NATO and Azerbaijan are actively cooperating on democratic, institutional, and military reforms, and enjoy 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.
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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
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