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New EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia to visit Azerbaijan

02 September 2011 14:13 (UTC +04:00)

That will be his first visit to the region within his new mandate. During his stay in Baku, Ambassador Lefort is expected to meet the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Defence, the Speaker of Parliament and the Chairman of the Parliamentâ€™s Foreign Affairs Committee and others.

"The EU attaches great importance to cooperation with the South Caucasus region and Azerbaijan. I am certain that with his expertise and in-depth knowledge of the region Ambassador Lefort will provide a useful contribution to further development of contacts with government structures, civil society in the country, promote the regional cooperation on themes of common interest and contribute to the peaceful settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict", said head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Ambassador Roland Kobia.

Philippe Lefort is a French diplomat of more than 20 yearsâ€™ experience. He has devoted large parts of his career to the Caucasus and Russia, among other things as French Ambassador in Georgia (2004-2007) and as Deputy Head of Mission at the French Embassy in Russia (2007-2010). Since 2010, he has been the Head of Continental Europe General Directorate at the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. On 1 September 2011, Ambassador Lefort started his duties as new EUSR for the South Caucasus.