Azerbaijani deputy FM visits Philippines PHOTO

On April 3-5, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Elnur Mammadov paid a visit to the Philippines.

During the visit on April 3, Elnur Mammadov met with Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo. The current state and prospects for the development of bilateral relations were discussed at the meeting, and the importance of joint efforts to achieve practical results in this direction was emphasised, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Foreign Ministry.

On April 4, the first political consultations were held between the two foreign ministries. The consultations were headed by Elnur Mammadov from Azerbaijan and Deputy Foreign Minister Teresa Lazaro from the Philippines. During the consultations, the current state of bilateral relations and issues of expanding cooperation in the fields of economy, tourism, energy, agriculture, culture and education were discussed.

During the consultations, Mammadov informed the interlocutors about the Azerbaijani-Armenian normalisation, restoration and construction works carried out on liberated Azerbaijani territories. The sides also exchanged views on Azerbaijan's activities within the framework of the chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement and discussed prospects for cooperation in the formats NAM-ASEAN, Economic Cooperation Organisation-ASEAN, regional and international security issues of mutual interest.

At the end of the consultations, a memorandum of understanding in the field of culture was signed between the Azerbaijani Culture Ministry and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines.

During the visit, Mammadov gave an interview to the Manila Times news agency. In the interview, he answered questions about the current state of bilateral ties, and prospects for their further development and strengthening, and spoke in detail about the Azerbaijani-Armenian normalisation, the restoration and construction works carried out in the territories of Azerbaijan liberated from occupation.