Azerbaijani, Belgian top diplomats mull bilateral ties, call for deepening economic relations

On August 24, Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib arrived in Azerbaijan on last leg of her three-nation tour.

Prior to paying an official visit to Azerbaijan, she visited both Armenia and Georgia, where she was received by high-ranking officials of those nations to discuss regional and international issues of interests.

However, her pro-Armenian and anti-Azerbaijani remarks made in Yerevan ruled out her meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who always meets high-ranking international officials to discuss top issues on the bilateral and multilateral agendas.

In Baku, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met Belgian counterpart to discuss bilateral relations as media said.

“During both one-on-one and expanded meetings, I and madam minister have exchanged views on bilateral relations between the two countries, Azerbaijan’s relations and projects with the European Union as well as regional issues,” Jeyhun Bayramov told a joint media briefing with Hadja Lahbib, Azertac news agency reported.

The Azerbaijani top diplomat also added that at their meeting, they also shared their opinions on economic ties in the context of bilateral relations.

For her part, the Belgian foreign minister told the presser that her country “seeks to deepen relations with Azerbaijan,” Azertac added.

“We want to deepen Azerbaijan-Belgium relations,” Hadja Lahbib said in a joint briefing, adding that “we have discussed bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Belgium, investment-related issues. It was a good opportunity to weigh in on a variety of matters at today’s meeting”.

In a similar vein, Caliber.Az reported that the Belgian foreign minister thanked Azerbaijan for helping Ukraine, adding that it is important for partners to help each other in the current difficult geopolitical period.

“I also thank Azerbaijan for helping Ukraine and continuing to do so. We know that some schools in Ukraine have been restored thanks to the help of Azerbaijan. Mr. Minister personally participated in the conference on assistance to Ukraine. We appreciate this help and thank you," Caliber.Az added. 

Simultaneously, the Azerbaijani and Belgian foreign ministers expressed their interests in deepening economic cooperation.

Belgium is interested in deepening cooperation with Azerbaijan, Report said, citing Hadja Lahbib as saying at a press conference, adding that “we want these relations to deepen”.

In her opinion, Belgium would like to see more business contacts between the two countries, as well as increase the number of Belgian companies in Azerbaijan. 

For his turn, Azerbaijan’s top diplomat specified that “18 Belgian companies are operating in Azerbaijan and the trade turnover between our countries made up about $80 million in 2022”.

At the same time, the Azerbaijani minister opined that “despite this year’s growth, we believe that this turnover does not fully reflect the relations between our countries,” Azertac said.

Further, Bayramov added that “Belgium’s investment in Azerbaijan makes up $120 million, while Azerbaijan’s investment in Belgium amounts to $250 million,” Azertac said.

Bayramov added that the meeting with Hadja Lahbib focused on Azerbaijan’s increasing role in the energy security of EU member states in recent years as well as newly implemented projects.

In a comment on what the visiting minister advised Azerbaijan to look forward and lead the way towards making peace with Armenia, Azerbaijan’s Jeyhun Bayramov said.

“Hadja Lahbib advised us to focus on the future as opposed to the past. She said that Belgium would assume the presidency of the European Union in January next year. I wish this presidency to be successful,” the Azerbaijani minister said and urged against double standards.

"We hope and anticipate that there won't be any double standards against Azerbaijan in the upcoming years. We are aware of the fact that how sensitive some European countries are to separatism and what important decisions they make. We would like them to grasp the essence of the step before giving an opinion on any work carried out by Azerbaijan. Armenia's secessionist and provocative steps cannot be accepted as a humanitarian issue so easily," the Azerbaijani foreign minister opined.

For her part, the Belgian top diplomat said that “they are aware that Azerbaijan is taking steps towards sustainable peace. A few days ago, I told the Armenian foreign minister that this is a historic opportunity to benefit from the dialogue”.

She also added that Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty had to be respected.

“We support this,” she said.