(MENAFN- AzerNews) Azerbaijan is working on establishing strong strategic relations
with Saudi Arabia, which it regards as a friendly and brotherly
state, Azernews reports.
Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and
Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential
Administration, said this in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.
According to him, relations between the two countries are of a
friendly, brotherly, and partnership nature.
The recent visit of the Head of the Presidential
Administration's Foreign Policy Department to Saudi Arabia comes
against the backdrop of strengthening bilateral relations between
the two countries, plans to further develop cooperation in various
fields, and explore new opportunities for this.
"The Azerbaijani people highly appreciate the firm position of
our brotherly country, Saudi Arabia, in condemning Armenia's
military aggression against Azerbaijan," he noted. In turn,
Azerbaijan unequivocally condemns attacks on Saudi Arabia with
missiles and drones, considering them unacceptable.
According to the Azerbaijani presidential aide, relations
between Baku and Riyadh are on a growing trajectory.
"Tourism is one of the important sectors for us - the number of
direct flights between Azerbaijan and the Kingdom is growing,"
Hajiyev said.
According to statistics, about 100,000 Saudi nationals visited
Azerbaijan in 2022.
"We expect further progress in relations, seek to further
develop cooperation with Saudi Arabia in economic and trade
sectors, growth of investments and ties in areas such as
agriculture and food security," Hajiyev said, highlighting
expectations of active participation of Saudi companies in projects
to restore liberated lands of Azerbaijan.
According to the presidential aide, cooperation is also expected
to deepen in the renewable energy sector, including through the
activity of Saudi ACWA Power investing in Azerbaijan.
He emphasized that being an exporter of traditional energy
resources - oil and gas, Azerbaijan is striving to ensure its
energy security in the future, and as President Ilham Aliyev
announced, the country is currently striving to increase the
production and export of green energy.
"Azerbaijan has huge potential in this field," Hajiyev said,
adding that work is underway to expand international cooperation in
this direction.
Commenting on the possibility of Azerbaijan joining OPEC, the
head of the Foreign Policy Department noted that the country is
already a member of OPEC+, within the framework of which it
cooperates with Saudi Arabia and tries to contribute to the
stability of oil prices in the world to ensure a proper balance
between supply and demand.
"We are actively cooperating within this format. In this regard,
frequent mutual visits, meetings and consultations between our
energy ministers are of great importance," Hajiyev explained.
He said the two countries support each other within the
framework of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation and other international institutions. "We highly
appreciate Saudi Arabia's role in strengthening Azerbaijan's ties
with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the
Arab League."
There is a memorandum of understanding outlining the mechanism
of consultations between the GCC General Secretariat and the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, the aide noted.
"We can participate in security dialogue between the Gulf States
and Azerbaijan to address regional and international security
issues. In addition, we envisage further cooperation in the sphere
of economic and trade relations, humanitarian interaction," he said
in the interview.
Answering a question about relations with Iran, Hajiyev noted
that Iran is Azerbaijan's neighbour. Azerbaijan maintains relations
with its neighbours based on the principles of mutual respect for
territorial integrity, sovereignty and non-interference in internal
affairs.
"Azerbaijan and Iran have historical ties in the neighbourhood,
but the recent attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Iran and the
killing of its employee has led to tension in our relations," he
noted, adding that diplomatic channels between the two countries
are currently engaged, with visits of relevant Iranian officials to
Azerbaijan. "Dialogue continues at the level of foreign ministries
to remove this tension and misunderstanding," Hajiyev noted.