Azerbaijani envoy, senior NATO official discuss bilateral ties, public diplomacy

Head of Azerbaijan's Mission to NATO, Ambassador Jafar Huseynzada and NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Carmen Romero have discussed bilateral relations.

“I was pleased to meet with Ms. Carmen Romero, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy. At the meeting, we had a good talk on public diplomacy and the contribution of the NATO Public Diplomacy Division to the practical cooperation within the NATO-Azerbaijan partnership, as well as the activities of the Embassy of Latvia in Azerbaijan, NATO Contact Point Embassy in Azerbaijan,” Caliber.Az quotes Huseynzada as tweeting on June 21.

The foundation for cooperation between Azerbaijan and NATO was laid through the signing of a program document within the framework of the Partnership for Peace on May 4, 1994. Azerbaijan was one of the 27 OSCE member countries to join the program.

Relations with NATO started in 1992 when Azerbaijan joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. This forum for dialogue was succeeded in 1997 by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, which brings together all Allies and partner countries in the Euro-Atlantic area.

Bilateral cooperation began when Azerbaijan joined the Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme in 1994. Thanks to regular participation in PfP activities, Azerbaijan has been able to contribute actively to Euro-Atlantic security by supporting NATO-led peace-support operations.

Since 1995, Azerbaijan has been engaged within the framework of the NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme. Leading areas of practical cooperation include cyber defence and counter-terrorism. For instance, civil servants from Azerbaijan have benefited from advanced cyber defence training. Moreover, Azerbaijan is participating in a research project developing portable sensors for explosives detection.

The Azerbaijan Mine Action Agency (ANAMA) has partnered with NATO Allies on a series of Alliance’s Trust Fund projects which assist with the demilitarization of unexploded ordnance. One such project resulted in the safe disposal of 640,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance from a 5.68 million m2 area, following an explosion at a former Soviet munitions facility.