Azernews.Az

By Vugar Khalilov

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has welcomed Ramtane Lamamra, Algerian foreign minister and special presidential representative, in Baku, Azernews reports, citing the ministry.

“A tête-à-tête meeting between Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Bayramov Jeyhun and Ramtane Lamamra, Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, Special Representative of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has just started,” the ministry wrote on its Twitter page on August 10.

Following the one-on-one discussion, the sides held an expanded meeting of the delegations.

“Meeting between the Azerbaijani and Algerian foreign ministers with the participation of delegations from both sides has started,” the ministry tweeted.

Bayramov welcomed the guest and conveyed his sincere congratulations on the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence. The minister emphasized that there is a wide potential for the further development of friendly and cooperative relations between Azerbaijan and Algeria.

Talking about the importance of political dialogue and mutual visits between the two countries, the minister mentioned the historic visit of former Algerian President Abdelkader Bensalah to Azerbaijan to participate in the XVIII Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement and his meeting with the Azerbaijani president in October 2019.

The minister noted with pleasure the participation of Chairman of the National People's Assembly of Algeria Ibrahim Boughali in the Baku Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network, as well as the participation of the Algerian representative in the Youth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Bayramov spoke about Armenia's 30-year-long aggression against Azerbaijan, the post-conflict situation in the region after the 44-day war in 2020, issues related to the implementation of trilateral declarations, reconstruction of the liberated territories, and large-scale peace-building efforts by Azerbaijan. Information was given on the activities of Armenia contrary to its obligations and the obstacles it caused to peacebuilding.

Algeria unequivocally supports Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and its internationally-recognized borders, the minister said, adding that this position was proved in the adoption of various resolutions, including various international organizations.

Lamamra expressed his gratitude for the warm reception and noted the importance of maintaining the current political dialogue and the intensity of bilateral contact between the two countries.

He emphasized issues such as the further expansion of the dialogue between the foreign ministries and various institutions of the two countries, the development of energy and economic cooperation, and the creation of friendship groups between communities.

Lamamra talked about Algeria as a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement and its activities during its tenure as the chairman. He said that the initiatives carried out by Azerbaijan within the framework of its chairmanship from 2019 were important.

He also briefed about the political processes in the Middle East, and the work done within the framework of the League of the Arab States and the African Union. It is important to solve international problems in line with norms and principles of international law, he added.

In addition to the bilateral framework, cooperation issues were discussed between the two states in multilateral international and regional formats, including the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

The parties also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

After the meeting, the ministers signed the "Protocol on political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria" and the "Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of Algeria on visa-free travel of citizens with diplomatic and service passports".

Later, the ministers made statements on the results of the meeting at the press briefing.

"An agreement was signed on the abolition of visas for holders of diplomatic and service passports, as well as a protocol on holding political consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries," Bayramov said during a joint press conference with his Algerian counterpart..

Bayramov emphasized that Azerbaijan and Algeria have solid connections on international platforms and that there is a lot of room for collaboration in the economic sector. The minister said that Algeria strongly supports the Azerbaijani embassy's endeavors in this regard.

Bayramov emphasized the importance of high-level visits between the two countries and praised the Algerian delegation's participation in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) parliamentary network conference in Baku.

He stressed that Azerbaijan seeks normalization of relations with its neighboring nations.

The first internally displaced people's return to their native Aghali village in Zangilan District, according to Bayramov, marked the beginning of the first stage of the 'Great Return.'

"I briefed my colleague on the reconstruction activities, the return of former internally displaced persons to liberated Karabakh, as well as talked about the ongoing situation between Azerbaijan and Armenia, including the non-constructive approach of Armenia," Bayramov added.

Addressing the conference, Lamamra stressed that Algeria supports the prospects of peace and stability in the South Caucasus based on international law.

"We aim to contribute to this issue. The role of Algeria as the former chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Azerbaijan as the current chairman oblige to this," he said.

The minister praised the fruitful conversation they had and expressed optimism for continued productive collaboration between the two countries.

He added that the establishment of a business council between Azerbaijan and Algeria is necessary.

"It's necessary to develop business contacts between our countries. To do this, we need to create a business council, which will contribute to the significant development of economic relations between Azerbaijan and Algeria," he said.

More active contact between the two ministries and governments, according to the minister, is required to realize the potential for bilateral partnership.

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