(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Sabina Mammadli read more Azerbaijani Defense Minister Col-Gen Zakir Hasanov and Chief of
Staff of NATO Allied Land Command, Lt-Gen Mustafa Oguz discussed
the development prospects of bilateral relations, Azernews reports per the ministry.
Prior to the meeting, the Turkish official visited the graves of
Azerbaijani martyrs and the Turkish Martyrs' Cemetery erected in
honor of the Turkish soldiers fallen in 1918. The guest paid
tribute to their memory and laid flowers.
Furthermore, during the meeting at the ministry, the Azerbaijani
defense minister expressed his deepest condolences to the families
of the quake victims in Türkiye, noting that Azerbaijan“always
stands by fraternal country”.
Then, Hasanov informed the guest about the reforms carried out
in the Azerbaijan Army, the work done in the liberated territories,
as well as the current situation on the Azerbaijani-Armenian
conditional state border and the Karabakh economic region.
He also emphasized the importance of further developing mutual
relations with NATO.
In turn, the Turkish official expressed his gratitude for the
support provided after the earthquake and condoled over the
Azerbaijani servicemen martyred as a result of the provocation
committed by illegal Armenian formations on the morning of March
5.
He then expressed satisfaction with the positive results
achieved in cooperation with Azerbaijan.
During the meeting, it was noted that Azerbaijan-NATO military
cooperation is of special importance within the framework of the
Operational Capabilities Concept (OCC).
Meanwhile, Azerbaijani First Deputy Defense Minister Col-Gen
Karim Valiyev also met with the visiting guest.
At the meeting, the North Atlantic Alliance's contribution to
the training of Azerbaijan Army Units as part of NATO's Operational
Capabilities Concept (OCC) was highly appreciated, as well as the
directions of joint activities against existing and potential
threats were discussed.
In his turn, Lt-Gen Oguz expressed his satisfaction with the
visit to Azerbaijan and highly appreciated the activities of the
military personnel of the Azerbaijan Army in all fields including
the professionalism of peacekeeping missions within the framework
of partnership with NATO.
Relations with NATO started in 1992 when Azerbaijan joined the
North Atlantic Cooperation Council. This forum for dialogue was
succeeded in 1997 by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, which
brings together all allies and partner countries in the
Euro-Atlantic area.
Bilateral cooperation began when Azerbaijan joined the
Partnership for Peace (PfP) program in 1994. Thanks to regular
participation in PfP activities, Azerbaijan has been able to
contribute actively to Euro-Atlantic security by supporting
NATO-led peace-support operations.
Azerbaijan's participation in the PfP Planning and Review
Process (PARP) since 1997 has allowed NATO and individual allies to
assist Azerbaijan in developing selected units to improve
interoperability with those of the allies.
NATO and Azerbaijan started work on a jointly agreed Defense
Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP) in 2008 to integrate NATO
standards into the teaching methodologies and curricula of the
country's Professional Military Education (PME) institutions.
In 2018, Azerbaijan asked NATO to also involve the Military High
School, a pre-commissioning school, in DEEP.
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