Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan and the European Union (EU) have discussed prospects for developing strategic partnership in 2014.

Shahin Mustafayev, Azerbaijan's Minister of Economy and Industry, as well as the Chairman of the State Commission for European Integration met with the head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Malena Mard.

The sides reviewed future partnership in creating industrial districts with the aim of supporting small and medium sized businesses in Azerbaijan.

This year is important in terms of determining the format of strategic relations between Azerbaijan and the EU, Mustafayev said.

For her part, Mard stressed the importance of strengthening relations between the EU and Azerbaijan.

Mustafayev hailed Azerbaijan-EU relations as diverse, saying the EU was one of the main trade partners of the country. In turn, Azerbaijan is playing an important role in ensuring European energy security, he said.

"We have signed EU-Azerbaijan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement an action plan within the European Neighborhood Policy, the agreement on visa facilitation and other important documents so far," he said.

Now Azerbaijan and the EU are holding discussions on the new documents. Azerbaijan intends to develop cooperation with European countries, built on the principles of equality and mutual respect, according to Mustafayev.

Mustafayev spoke of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, noting 20 percent of Azerbaijan lands have been under Armenian occupation for more than 20 years.

The dispute is the major obstacle to efforts to speed up regional integration, he believes.

The EU and Azerbaijan are maintaining relations under the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which was signed in 1996 and came into force in 1999. Since then the PCA has provided the legal framework for EU-Azerbaijan bilateral relations in the areas of political dialogue, trade, investment, economic, legislative and cultural cooperation.