Azernews.Az

By Sara israfilbayova

Brussels hosted the second round of negotiations on signing of an EU-Azerbaijan Common Aviation Area Agreement on July 4-5.

From the Azerbaijani side, a delegation led by Director of the country’s State Civil Aviation Administration Arif Mammadov took part in the negotiations, the Azerbaijani State Civil Aviation Administration reported.

The delegation included employees of the State Civil Aviation Administration and the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Belgium, as well as representatives of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry and Justice Ministry.

During the constructive talks, both sides expressed readiness to sign the relevant agreements.

The remarks and proposals of the Azerbaijani side were discussed, and a number of issues were clarified. The sides signed a protocol following the meeting.

The sides agreed to hold the third round of negotiations on the signing of an EU-Azerbaijan Common Aviation Area Agreement in Baku. Until then, the EU and its member countries will receive prompt feedback from other ministries and committees of Azerbaijan.

The final version of the agreement is expected to be prepared at the meeting in Baku.

The beginning of negotiations on the draft Common Aviation Area Agreement is also important from the perspective of signing new EU-Azerbaijan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, Mammadov said at the meeting.

He noted that the meeting will make a special contribution to the dialogue between Azerbaijan and Europe.

Mammadov also stressed that Azerbaijan has positive experience in cooperation in the field of civil aviation.

Currently, the bilateral relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are regulated on the basis of an agreement on partnership and cooperation that was signed in 1996 and entered into force in 1999.

The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today.

The EU is Azerbaijan’s major trade partner. This 28 member states union with a total population of more than 500 million people is Azerbaijan´s biggest economic partner providing country’s 38 percent of foreign trade share.

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