(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Fuad Muxtar-Aqbabali read more Hot on the heels of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's
official visit to Belgrade, Serbian leader Aleksandar Vucic is back
again in Baku with a large government delegation to gauge and
estimate the horizons of the political, economic, military, and
energy cooperation, to name but a few.
In Baku, the Serbian leader had also a separate meeting with
Azerbaijani Defense Industry Minister Madat Quliyev, which prior to
the press statements of the presidents, indicated the two
countries' intention to also cooperate in the defense sector.
Addressing the media following the presidents' one-to-one
meeting, President Aliyev praised the positive dynamics of
relations and strategic partnership between the two nations,
thrusting into the spotlight the determination of the two peoples
to always support each other's territorial integrity and
sovereignty, underscoring that the policy will remain
perpetual.
Giving prominence to opportunities for cooperation in trade,
transport, logistics, as well as natural gas and electricity
sectors, President Ilham Aliyev vowed that 'tangible steps' would
be taken to export Azerbaijani electricity to Serbia starting next
year as part of the Black Sea underwater cable signed with European
countries recently in Romania. He added that Belgrade and Baku have
also had significant capacities in the defense industry sector and
that 'specific steps are expected to be taken to put this potential
together'.
The dynamics of relations between Azerbaijan and Serbia are
promising and positive and both leaders are behind the deals to be
implemented they made in Belgrade last month.
“We are not only hopeful, but we have also given appropriate
instructions to our governments for the implementation of those
decisions. I am aware that the heads of our respective institutions
have been in contact with each other in the past month, and these
contacts continue to this day. In other words, we want our
bilateral relations to develop rapidly and the decisions to be
implemented without wasting time,” the Azerbaijani leader
underlined.
The scopes of cooperation are indeed broad and they create new
opportunities for future cooperation as both Serbia and Azerbaijan
rely on their own resources and pursue independent policies and
maintain close contacts with each other, augmenting them with
concrete and practical steps and projects. Azerbaijan and Serbia
have long cooperated in a number of sectors for a long time and
they are strategic partners, as several documents on strategic
partnership between the two nations reveal.
Baku and Serbia are very sensitive about their territorial
integrity and sovereignty, and the two presidents pledged to remain
loyal to this line.
“We advocate international law and are convinced that the
relations between countries can be regulated only on the basis of
norms and principles of international law. Of course, we are very
concerned about the manifestations of double standards observed in
the world in this field. Norms and principles of international law
should serve as a basis for all countries,” the Azerbaijani
president reiterated.
Taking advantage of such wonderful relations of strategic
partnership and, at the same time, the two presidents'“personal
friendly relations”, the governments hope that this will produce
results in all areas, of course, first of all, in trade.
The Azerbaijani leader believes the current level of economic
relations has not reached the desired level and pushes for
conquering the level that can be considered as desired.
“I am sure that the implementation of the agreements reached
will lead to an increase in the volume of trade. It is not at the
desired level yet. There is great potential in the field of
transport and logistics, especially if we take into account that
international transport corridors pass through the territories of
Azerbaijan and Serbia, and our relevant institutions should work
hard to create alignments and connections. Contacts have already
been established between relevant institutions of our
countries.”
Among other spheres of cooperation, the energy sector is a part
of the relations between the two nations and the presidents
stressed this aspect at their meeting as many experts keep
reiterating.
The importance of this area has been on the increase lately.
Azerbaijan's natural resources are already being exported in
various directions, including the European continent and countries
that are Serbia's neighbors. There are opportunities for
cooperation in both natural gas and electricity.
“Relevant negotiations have been held and I am sure that
tangible steps will be taken to export Azerbaijan's electricity to
Serbia starting next year,” the news conference heard.
Referring to his latest visit to Romania, the president added
that“a corresponding agreement was signed on the delivery of
Azerbaijan's electricity to Europe four days ago. The cable that
will be extended under the Black Sea will further highlight the
fact that Azerbaijan is an important supplier for Europe in this
field too. All this ushers ample opportunities and opens new
horizons, and we will cooperate in this area, of course, in
bilateral and multilateral formats”.
The president of Azerbaijan also focused on the potential to
work together in the defense industry sector as both countries
possess the significant capacity and specific steps are expected to
be taken to combine this potential together.
Last but not least, the two nations are optimistic about the two
reciprocal visits, the contacts between members of our delegations,
and the future of Serbia-Azerbaijani relations as a whole.
For his turn, President Vucic said that Serbia and Azerbaijan
are opening up some new areas of cooperation such as the exchange
of technology in the defense industry and 'work on some products
that we can take to the markets of third countries together'.
Actually, this reveals the reason why the Serbian president had a
meeting with Azerbaijani Defence Industry Minister Madat
Quliyev.
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Tags: gas military cooperation azerbaijani president ilham aliyev serbian president alexandar vučić