Baku, January 13 (AZERTAC). According to the press-service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, in 2008, Azerbaijan successfully continued its line of foreign policy aimed at ensuring the country’s sustainable development and protection of the citizens’ rights. Growth of the economic potential and socio-political stability created favorable conditions for further strengthening the country’s position both on the international arena and on the regional level, developing and deepening relations with other countries bilaterally as well as in multilateral framework, and collaborating effectively with international organizations.

In his speech on 7 July at the third meeting of the heads of diplomatic missions and consulates of the Republic of Azerbaijan, President I.Aliyev highly appraised the work of the diplomatic service and set out future goals and tasks of the foreign-policy office stemming from the interests of creating favorable foreign policy environment for the further progressive development of the country.

During 2008, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan continued to carry out its consistent activity on the settlement of the armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan based on respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the internationally-recognized borders of Azerbaijan. The armed conflict in South Ossetia (Georgia) clearly demonstrated the vulnerability of the situation in the South Caucasus and the danger of the situation of “no war, no peace”. The August events have shown how pernicious the ignorance of the basic universal norms and principles of international law could be, and provided a new impulse to international efforts for the settlement of conflicts in the region. It was against this background that the negotiation process within the Minsk Group of the OSCE was intensified.

Upon the initiative of the Russian Federation, a trilateral meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia was held on November 2nd, which resulted in their signing of the Moscow Declaration. The document expresses the willingness of the sides to continue seeking ways for the settlement of the conflict based on norms and principles of international law and the decisions and documents approved within this framework. Both parties to the conflict as well as the Russian mediator agreed that reaching a peaceful settlement would create a basis for the economic cooperation between the parties.

Efforts continued to further consolidate the position of the international community on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and elimination of its consequences. On March 14th at the 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), a resolution submitted by Azerbaijan was adopted, which expressed the continued respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders, demanded the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of all Armenian forces from all the occupied territories, reaffirmed the inalienable right of the population expelled from these territories to return to their homes and stressed that no State should recognize as lawful the situation resulting from the occupation. It is important to point out the paragraph in the resolution that recognizes the necessity of providing secure and equal conditions of life for Armenian and Azerbaijani communities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region with a view to create an effective democratic system of self-governance to be built up in the region within the Republic of Azerbaijan, which meets the OSCE’s Lisbon principles concerning the framework of the future status of the region and security guarantees for all of its population.

Support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan was also clearly expressed at the NATO Summit held in Bucharest on 2-4 April and at the Foreign Ministers Meeting of the North Atlantic Council held in Brussels on 2-3 December, where the necessity of settling the conflict based on these principles was emphasized.

A Joint declaration was adopted during the Meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council held in Helsinki on 4-5 December, which took note of the constructive outcome of the November meeting of the three Presidents and called on the parties to the conflict to intensify negotiations in accordance with the provisions of the Moscow Declaration. In their statements at the meeting, the absolute majority of the OSCE Member-States have stressed the importance of compliance with the principle of territorial integrity.

International Conference on “Basic Principles for the Settlement of the Conflicts on the Territories of the GUAM States” was organized and held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan on 15-16 April in Baku with the participation of high-level representatives of from the invited Governments and respected international experts in the field of international law. Discussions held at the Conference showed that there is a unity of views on such issues related to international law as the correlation of the principles of territorial integrity and self-determination of peoples, consequences of unlawful use of force and acquisitions of territory as well as the responsibility for violations of international law and perspectives of involving international legal institutions.

In the framework of integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures, Azerbaijan continued to develop its cooperation with the European Union and NATO.

Relations of integration with the European Union developed within the context of implementation of the European Neighborhood Policy Action Plan and participation in such programs as «Twinning» and «TAIEX». The initiative on Eastern Partnership gave an additional impetus to the process of strengthening of Azerbaijan’s partnership with and further integration into the European Union. The proposed initiative creates conditions for the deepening of trade and economic, political and humanitarian relations by concluding new association agreements, including on free-trade, and the so-called “mobility and security pacts” allowing for the loosening of the visa system.

Azerbaijan successfully continued its cooperation with NATO in areas of regional and energy security, fight against terrorism, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, illegal drug and human trafficking, border security, elimination of consequences of emergency situations, reforms in security and other areas. In March of 2008, the second document on the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) was adopted, launching the next cycle of IPAP implementation, which provides for deeper political dialogue with NATO, realization of reforms in the area of defense and security and cooperation in the sphere of science and public diplomacy.

Special attention was given to the economic component of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy, realization of tasks on increasing the competitiveness, influence and role of country in global and regional economic integration processes, protection of the economic interests of Azerbaijan and its citizens abroad, ensuring energy security, participation in the advancement of transnational energy and transport projects, and consolidation of the country’s key position in regional infrastructure communications.

Major efforts were concentrated on expanding and deepening cooperation within the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development – GUAM. Within its chairmanship in GUAM, Azerbaijan organized a number of events, including international conferences “GUAM-Transit” and “GUAM Development Strategy” and continued to actively promote the strategy of development of the GUAM transport corridor at transregional and Eurasian dimensions.

In the context of the extended dialogue on energy, the Energy Summit was held in Baku on 14 November. As a result of the high-level meeting, a Declaration was adopted, which stressed the importance of continuing to pursue policies aimed at diversifying the oil and gas supply routes from the Caspian basin to the world and European markets. Participants of the Summit expressed their support for projects to create a multi-vector infrastructure for the transport and transit of Azerbaijani natural gas to regional and European markets so as to fully meet the needs of the participating States.

Issues related to the expansion of cooperation in the field of energy were also discussed at the international conference “Oil and gas potential of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan: energy, economy, ecology. Strategic cooperation” held in Baku on 8-9 November and at the trilateral meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan held in Turkmenbashi on 29 November.

Azerbaijan’s positions on the regional energy market were further strengthened by the launch of energy investment projects in Georgia and Turkey, namely the opening of the Black Sea terminal of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan in Kulevi region of Georgia on 16 May and the beginning of a detailed elaboration of the project to build an oil refinery in Ceyhan.

In 2008, Azerbaijan continued to collaborate with the interested countries on the development of transport corridors “East-West” and “North-South”. In the framework of the implementation of the project on the construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, the groundbreaking ceremony of the Turkish section of the railway was held in Kars on 24 July with the participation of the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. Azerbaijan also actively participated in the work of the Working Group on the realization of the project on “North-South” transport corridor.

The Jubilee Conference of the Transport Ministers the of States Parties to the Basic Multilateral Agreement on development of the Europe-Caucasus-Asia corridor (TRACECA) was held in Baku on 3 December to mark the tenth anniversary of the International Conference for Reconstruction of the Historical Silk Road. Issues related to the extension of the transport corridor, joining of other neighboring countries to the project and expansion and prospects of cooperation between the countries participating in the project were considered at the event.

Throughout the year Azerbaijan actively participated in the work of the United Nations and its specialized agencies, contributed to the process of implementation of the Millennium Development Goals and supported the efforts of the UN Member-States directed at strengthening the central role of this universal organization in ensuring international peace and security.

Azerbaijan made an important contribution to the work of the subsidiary organs of the UN, particularly focusing on issues related to the violation of norms and principles of international humanitarian law. Thus, upon Azerbaijan’s initiative, on annual sessions of the Human Rights Council and the Commission on the Status of Women two resolutions were adopted, respectively on “Missing Persons” and “Release of women and children taken hostage, including those subsequently imprisoned, in armed conflicts”.

Special attention was devoted to ensuring better representation of Azerbaijan in elected structures of international organizations. In 2008, Azerbaijan was elected to the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council as well as to the Council of Administration and Postal Operations Council of the Universal Postal Union.

Azerbaijan participated more actively within the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) and started preparations to assume chairmanship in the organization in 2009.

Azerbaijan’s important role, experience accumulated by the country and its principal attitude to the issues of transparency in the extractive industries became the main reason for submitting at the 62nd session of the UNGA of a draft resolution “Strengthening transparency in industries”, which was adopted unanimously. The resolution was a significant step towards conferring international legality to the initiative on transparency in extractive industries and establishing a legal mechanism for ensuring honesty, transparency and accountability in this area.

Azerbaijan took an active part in the third Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), strengthening its coordinating role in the implementation of confidence-building measures on security and effectiveness of transport corridors.

As an integral part of the Islamic world, Azerbaijan continued developing close cooperation with the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and contributed to the increased role and influence of the organization in solving regional and global problems. A unique geographic location on the junction of different cultures and civilizations, traditions of tolerance and inter-communal peace, cultural and ethnic diversity lead to the recognition of Azerbaijan’s role as a bridge between civilizations. In light of this, at the Fifth Islamic Conference of Culture Ministers, Baku was declared the Islamic Culture Capital 2009.

Among the initiatives put forward by Azerbaijan in 2008 in the area of development of dialogue among civilizations, it is worth mentioning the forum held in Baku on 10-11 June on “Expanding the Role of Women in Cross-Culture Dialogue”. Another important event in this area was the Conference of the Ministers of Culture of the States Members of the Council of Europe organized in Baku on 2-3 December on “Intercultural Dialogue: a Basis for Peace and Sustainable Development in Europe and its Neighboring Regions”. The Conference resulted in the adoption of the Baku Declaration and laid the foundation of the “Baku Process” that envisaged creation of conditions for strengthening of cultural dialogue and coordination of activities in sphere of intercultural dialogue among member-states as well as states partners.

Supporting Azerbaijan’s democratization processes, particularly of further developing of civil society institutions, ensuring protection of rights and basic freedoms of citizens, increasing the effectiveness of public administration and other issues remained at the focus of the country’s cooperation with the Council of Europe, its Parliamentary Assembly, OSCE/ODHR as well as with the leading non-governmental human rights organizations. Presidential elections held in Azerbaijan on October 15th were highly appraised by numerous local and international observers and clearly demonstrated the adherence of the Government to the ideas of pluralistic democracy, supremacy of law and respect for human rights, and to consistent policy of strengthening the framework of a constitutional democratic state.

Concurrently, Azerbaijan continued to develop its bilateral diplomatic relations. Visits of President I.Aliyev during 2008 to Finland, Russia, Hungary, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey, Romania, Georgia, Ukraine and Turkmenistan contributed to the expansion of bilateral partner relations and consolidation of the country’s positions on the international arena.

Moreover, in 2008 Azerbaijan successively expanded its diplomatic presence abroad, opening an embassy in Syria and an office in Afghanistan. On the other hand, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Hungary and the European Commission have established their diplomatic representations in Azerbaijan.

Further advancement of interaction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan with other ministries and agencies, representative bodies, academic centers, mass media, local non-governmental organizations and compatriot unions abroad was highly conducive to the successful, effective and systematic fulfillment of its tasks. Among other things, it is worth highlighting the combined contribution of a wide range of government structures and the civil society of Azerbaijan to the promotion of its foreign policy interests and the rise in the international prestige of the country in 2008.