Baku 20° C
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The of the Republic of Azerbaijan has issued a press release on the results of the year of 2019.
Report informs, citing the Foreign Ministry, that the press release reads as follows:
During the year of 2019 the Republic of Azerbaijan has successfully pursued an independent foreign policy course based on its national interests at a time of growing political and economic tensions in the context of international relations. Against the background of contradictory processes taking place around the region, our country has achieved even greater growth of high international prestige due to ensuring internal stability and the pace of consistent development, carrying out fundamental reforms in public administration, rooting the positive dynamics of economic growth and the effective implementation of large-scale projects, with its active participation.
2019 was marked by the 100th anniversary of the diplomatic service of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was established a hundred years ago to represent the interests of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in the international arena, has made every effort to protect and develop the heritage entrusted to it in the last century. In connection with the centenary of the diplomatic service, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan H.E. Mr. in his congratulatory address emphasized: “Our diplomats, our diplomatic service bodies have exceptional merit in strengthening independence, bringing the Azerbaijani realities to the world, turning our country into an active member of the international community".
Comprehensive reforms implemented at the initiative and under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, along with ensuring socio-economic stability and development, have created a positive basis for the growth of a positive image of our country in the international arena. Foreign policy activity, which is an integral part of the comprehensive development strategy of our country, has contributed to strengthening the international position of Azerbaijan as a reliable and sustainable partner, following the principles of multilateralism, flexibility, transparency, equal and mutually beneficial cooperation.
The main focus of our diplomatic activities is to end Armenia's military aggression against Azerbaijan and to restore sovereignty and territorial integrity within the internationally recognized borders of our country.
As a result of ongoing consistent diplomatic efforts, the world community's support for Azerbaijan's position on resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of international borders has increased.
In the final document of the Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, which brings together the 120 member countries and constitutes the largest political platform after the UN, held in Baku on October 25-26 of this year, the heads of states and governments noted the inadmissibility of acquisition of territory by force, also stressed the importance of resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict on the basis of the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan, and confirmed that no Member State shall recognize as lawful the situation resulting from the occupation of the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan. At the Summit, chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement has been transferred to the Republic of Azerbaijan for the upcoming 3 years.
The Final Communiqué, adopted on May 23-24 at the 14th Summit of the heads of state and government of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), strongly condemned the occupation of the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan as a result of the aggression of Armenia and reflected the appeal of member states to prevent any activity that could contribute to sustaining the occupation. At the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC, which was held on March 1-2, the resolutions on “Aggression of Armenia against the Republic of Azerbaijan”, “Destruction and insult of monuments and traces of the Islamic religion in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan”, “Solidarity with the victims of the Khojaly massacre”, “Economic assistance to Azerbaijan” were adopted.
The decision on the rights and obligations of member states, which was indicated in the documents of the 129th session of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Council of Europe (CoE), held on May 17, reflected a provision confirming respect for the territorial integrity of member states.
The Final Declaration of the 7th Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States (Turkic Council), which was held on October 15, contained a resolute support on the soonest resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict based on sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan.
The Final Declaration of the 5th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, which took place on June 14-15, included issues related to the condemnation of separatism, the resolution of regional conflicts on the basis of norms and principles of international law and decisions adopted by international organizations.
The Final Declaration of the Summit of Heads of Government of the GUAM Member States, held on 12 December, emphasized the importance of the soonest resolution of the conflicts on the territory of GUAM on the basis of the UN Security Council resolutions and the norms and principles of international law, as reflected in the Helsinki Final Act, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States within their internationally recognized borders.
During 2019, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev received the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group in Baku on February 21, May 30 and October 17, as part of the discussions on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
On January 22, within the framework of the Davos World Economic Forum, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with the Prime Minister of Armenia. On March 29, a meeting was held in Vienna between the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.
During the year, in total 5 meetings were held between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan with the participation of co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and the personal representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office on January 16 in Paris, April 15 in Moscow, June 20 in Washington, September 23 in New York and December 4 in Bratislava.
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs held meetings with representatives of the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region during their visits to the region.
Activities within the framework of various international organizations for the international protection of the rights of people suffering from the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia, especially IDPs, missing persons, prisoners of war and hostages continued during the year, various provisions have been included to the resolutions and recommendations on the right of IDPs to return, as well as the immediate release of hostages, and the fate of missing persons.
Development of foreign economic and trade relations, increasing export potential, exploring new investment opportunities, organizing mutual visits of government and business circles of Azerbaijan and foreign countries, holding meetings of the joint intergovernmental commissions and working groups on economic cooperation, preventing illegal economic activities in our occupied territories, expanding cooperation in the framework of global and regional international economic organizations have constituted the main priority directions of the foreign policy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
During the year, meetings of the Intergovernmental Commissions of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the USA, Afghanistan, Japan, Great Britain, Switzerland, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, France, Russia, Turkmenistan, the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region of China were held.
On November 30, the opening of the TANAP connecting part with Europe was held. TANAP, implemented upon the initiative and with the participation of our country, and connecting the countries of the region with the ties of closer cooperation is part of one of the largest Eurasian infrastructure projects - the Southern Gas Corridor - and will bring Azerbaijani gas to Europe through Turkey, and contribute to the energy security of the European countries.
On December 5-6, Baku hosted the 14th session of the TRACECA Intergovernmental Commission and an international conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the organization. Following the meeting, a new TRACECA Secretary General was elected and the chairmanship in the organization was handed over to Azerbaijan.
During the year the intensive negotiations continued between Azerbaijan and the European Union on the draft of a new bilateral agreement. On February 19, a high-level Transport dialogue between Azerbaijan and the EU was held in Baku; the EU has a high-level dialogue in the field of transport with only seven countries in the world. At the EU-Azerbaijan Security Dialogue meeting held on December 19, the sides exchanged views on important political and security issues of mutual interest, including conflict resolution and crisis management, regional and international security threats and challenges, and discussed practical cooperation opportunities. The EU side has reaffirmed the support of the EU officials for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty.
