Azerbaijan to open embassies in three more countries FM addresses briefing/UPDATED

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has said that the total number of Azerbaijan's diplomatic missions abroad has reached 90.

He made the remarks while speaking at the reporting briefing of the Ministry on the results of the year, APA reports.

"Some 161 documents were signed with 44 countries. The opening of new diplomatic missions continued in 2023," he said.

He added that 2023 was marked by the restoration of Azerbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Azerbaijan attaches special importance to strategic cooperation within the framework of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), the minister added.

He recalled that in 2023, Azerbaijan hosted several OTS events.

Bayramov also noted that this year Azerbaijan has contributed to the expansion of cooperation within the framework of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC): "At the OIC conference in Mauritania, a document was adopted regarding the terrorist attack on our embassy in Tehran and other issues."

The Foreign Ministry has assumed its duties in connection with the early presidential elections.

"Embassies are working to ensure that Azerbaijani citizens living abroad have their voting rights, and the necessary conditions for voting have been created. We are working with international organizations to ensure the participation of their monitoring groups in the elections. The first groups have already arrived," the minister said.

Talking about, Azerbaijan’s attention to humanitarian issues, the minister recalled that Azerbaijan provided humanitarian assistance to Türkiye after the earthquakes in February 2023, as well as to Ukraine after the outbreak of war, and financial assistance to the Gaza Strip.

"All this is an example of Azerbaijan's humanitarian policy. We have also allocated $2 million to help Gaza. Two global appeals for assistance to small island states of Africa in connection with the COVID-19 epidemic were announced, and Azerbaijan allocated $1 million for each appeal," he said.

Bayramov also said that relations with China are very important for Azerbaijan.

"There are sincere relations between the leaders of the two countries. We see China's growing interest in our region. The high dynamics of relations over the last period pleases us. Looking at the calendar for the last few months, one can see these dynamics," the minister said.

Bayramov said Azerbaijan will open embassies in three more countries next year.

According to him, an embassy is expected to be established and start operating in Thailand.

"At the same time, our diplomatic missions will start operating in Oman and Afghanistan," the minister added.

In the history since independence, Azerbaijan has never had any incidents with the diplomatic missions of other countries, with Azerbaijani embassies abroad being attacked.

"For example, in Lebanon, over the past years, there have been several times aggressive attempts by representatives of the Armenian diaspora who tried to attack our embassy. This is not a one-time phenomenon. However, except for one case, all these attempts were stopped quite professionally. Unfortunately, I cannot say that about all diplomatic missions in different countries," he said.

The Foreign Minister recalled that at that time about 1,000 people armed with various objects wanted to attack the embassy: "No physical injuries were inflicted on the embassy staff, but the embassy was damaged. We worked closely with Lebanese law enforcement officials and identified all the instigators.

"Having said all that, I want there to be a correct understanding. No country can 100 per cent guarantee the inviolability of its mission on the territory of another country if that host country will not or does not fulfil its functions assigned to it and the guarantees it gave to the other country when it opened an embassy based on the Vienna Convention. And this, of course, is an important part of our work, when we bring, remind about the principles of reciprocity so that these countries themselves also take it very seriously," the foreign minister added.