Azerbaijan, Indonesia seek bonds for further cooperation
By Laman Sadigova
Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov held a meeting with Director of South and Central Asian Affairs Listyowati at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry on June 9 to discuss prospects for bilateral cooperation.
Khalafov spoke about cultural, religious and traditional factors that relate the two countries, noting the great potential for cooperation in economic, humanitarian and cultural fields.
Later on Khalafov informed about the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which remains the major obstacle to the full development and integration in the South Caucasus.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Listyowati, in turn, said that Indonesia recognizes Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and supports the country’s just position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Earlier Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said in Baku on June 5. During the meeting, Azerbaijani President hailed cooperation in oil sector and large trade between the countries noting it as a good indicator of the ties. Ilham Aliyev told about good opportunities for further developing in economic, energy, trade and other fields.
The Republic of Indonesia recognized the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan on December 28, 1991, diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on in 1992.
Nowadays, the trade turnover between Indonesia and Azerbaijan has followed an upward trend in the past five years, surging by 21.84 percent on average each year to reach $2.43 billion in 2014. Of that figure, Indonesia’s exports only totaled $5.57 million.
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