Azernews.Az

By Sabina Mammadli

Azerbaijani and Belarus officials have discussed further prospects of cooperation at a meeting in Belarus, Azertag has reported.

At the meeting held between Azerbaijani ambassador Ulvi Bakhshaliyev and Speaker of the Council of Belarus Natalya Kochanova, the latter described Azerbaijan not just as a partner for Belarus, but a close friend, the report added.

“Azerbaijan is a country that connects us with friendly, economic, political, humanitarian ties. This collaboration is very important to us as we feel Azerbaijan’s support in international organizations on all levels. And surely, in many ways, such good relations between our countries have developed thanks to our presidents," Kochanova said.

The speaker noted that an intensive political dialogue is underway between Belarus and Azerbaijan. She stressed the importance of a closer relationship between the sides in such a difficult time.

“Our contacts should be more effective, and I think the resumption of meetings, parliamentary visits to Azerbaijan and Belarus will contribute to this. We have found a complete mutual understanding of the ongoing processes, in support of each other, and we will do our best to intensify cooperation. We have a good trade turnover this year: in 10 months - $ 442 million,” she added.

Ulvi Bakhshaliev expressed gratitude for the organization of the meeting in the Council of the Republic.

“I am very happy to be here as an ambassador. We are very grateful to our presidents for the pace that they set for our relationship. And we must try to realize the set tasks in time with the bilateral agenda,” she said.

Earlier it was reported that Azerbaijan disassociated itself from paragraph 11 of the Joint Declaration of the Eastern Partnership Summit of December 15, 2021, as it has a reservation to any operations “in conflict-affected regions” referred to in paragraph 8 of the Annex to this Joint Declaration carried out in the absence of a relevant request and agreement with Azerbaijan.

At the summit, EU Council President Charles Michel officially stated that Azerbaijan had not agreed with paragraph 11 of the joint declaration concerning the internal political situation in Belarus and expressed its position on this paragraph.

Due to the discrepancy between the views expressed in the Joint Declaration on Belarus and the principles of Azerbaijan's foreign policy, Azerbaijan adopted a Joint Declaration with its reservations. That is, Azerbaijan stated that it does not share the position on Belarus in paragraph 11.

Azerbaijan and Belarus are cooperating in various fields of economy, such as agriculture, transport, remote sensing services, etc. The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Belarus amounted to $335.7 million, with the export accounting for $233.2 million and import for $102.5 million in the first 10 months of 2021.

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