(MENAFN- AzerNews) By Qabil Ashirov
For two years after the Second Karabakh War, Spain has been
closely following the post-war situation, Azernews reports via
Francisco Javier Medina Ortiz, a member of Barcelona Bar
Associations.
Spain supports a prompt signing of a peace agreement between
Azerbaijan and Armenia, which would ensure sustainable peace in the
South Caucasus. However, as we see Yerevan only talks about peace
in words, and in reality, it tries to drag out the peace
process.
The same behavior could be observed during the negotiations
under the OSCE Minsk Group. Nevertheless, Azerbaijan showed enough
patience and achieved an impressive result by liberating the
occupied territories in just 44 days during the counter-offensive
operation, Javier Medina Ortiz said.
He also expressed his hope for a new era in the relations
between Azerbaijan and Spain.
“I hope that Madrid will open its embassy in Azerbaijan and a
consulate of Azerbaijan in Barcelona in the near future. This is
extremely necessary not only in terms of the economy but also in
terms of political cooperation, as well as the intensification of
mutually beneficial relations. For resolving this issue, the
governments of the two countries have the desire and political
will,' the Spanish expert said.
He went on to add that after Azerbaijan's historic victory, it
is time to focus on economic opportunities opening up investment in
the liberated territories.
'Spanish companies are studying the new reality that has
developed in the region in detail, and are interested in
cooperation with Azerbaijan. A number of companies have already
been investigating opportunities in participating in the
reconstruction works in Karabakh. Moreover, this interest is
observed at the institutional level. Spain has rich experience in
the reconstruction of war-ravaged territories. Our country has made
a significant contribution to ensuring long-term peace in Iraq,
Afghanistan, Lebanon, and the Balkans. If the Azerbaijani
government wills, Spain will participate in the restoration of
Karabakh,” Francisco Optic said.
At the same time, our interlocutor continued that it is
necessary to resolve several issues for accomplishing this
task.
“First, it is necessary to generate interest in investment.
Second, a legal and institutional framework must be created. And,
third, there must be an established protocol and an appropriate
mechanism that will answer the question of who and in what areas of
activity will invest,' the Spanish expert listed.
Further, he gave examples of specific companies that want to
work in Karabakh.
'For example, the largest company for the processing of
industrial waste in Catalonia. This desire was expressed by the
main multinational corporation in Barcelona in the field of
renewable energy. There are a number of companies involved in the
hotel business, which are also interested in developing tourism in
Karabakh. The potential is huge and should be realized,” summed up
Francisco Javier Medina Ortiz.
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