Economic Cooperation Organization adopts communiqué supporting territorial integrity of Azerbaijan

Baku. 17 April. REPORT.AZ/ At the end of 23rd meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization, Dushanbe Communiqué was adopted.

Report was told in the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.

It was noted that, the 23rd meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on April 17. The Azerbaijani delegation was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev.

Within the visit Deputy Minsiter Mammad-Guliyev has had a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Tajikistan Sirocaddin Aslov. In an amicable atmosphere the sides noting traditional partnership ties between our countries had broad discussion on development of cooperation in political, economic, cultural and other spheres.

Speaking at the ECO Ministerial, Deputy Minister Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev said that Azerbaijan is engaged in active cooperation within the framework of the OIC and supports development of comprehensive cooperation among member states, put forward a number of initiatives aimed at strengthening practical cooperation and promoting regional transport corridor projects. He also briefed about Azerbaijan’s political, economic stability, as well as fundamental reforms implemented in our country.

İn the communique the Ministers expressed concern about the unresolved conflicts in the ECO Region, including Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, which hinder the economic growth and realization of full economic potential of the Region and impede the development of economic cooperation on regional as well as broader level, and stress the importance of making increased efforts for the earliest resolution of these conflicts based on the norms and principles of international law, in particular the principles of respect to sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The document also underlined the importance of large-scale regional transport and energy projects such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, the North-South transport corridor, as well as the Baku-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline, the expanded Baku-Erzurum Gas Pipeline, the Iran- Azerbaijan-Russia electricity transmission line.