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Czechiaâ€™s Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg: â€œAzerbaijan is a strategic partner of Czechiaâ€œ

11 December 2008 10:49 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Lachin Sultanova â€“ APA. Azerbaijanâ€™s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov paid an official visit to Czechia at the invitation of his Czech counterpart Karel Schwarzenberg. Foreign Ministryâ€™s press service told APA that on the first day of the visit the minister met with chairman of Czech Senate PÅ™emysl Sobotka. They underlined strategic importance of Azerbaijan-Czechia relations and noted the necessity of deepening the relations. PÅ™emysl Sobotka said Czechia would contribute to Azerbaijan-EU relations during its chairmanship of the European Union in the first half of 2009 and welcomed the development of political, economic, energy cooperation and interparliamentary relations.

Elmar Mammadyarov expressed his satisfaction with the level of current cooperation and noted the importance of parliamentariansâ€™ visits within the framework of interparliamentary cooperation. The minister informed PÅ™emysl Sobotka of Nagorno Karabakh conflict and said the conflict could be solved only within the framework of Azerbaijanâ€™s territorial integrity.

Afterwards, Elmar Mammadyarov met with Czech Foreign Minister Karl Schwarzenberg. The meeting highly assessed the position of Czechia on the solution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict within the framework of internationally recognized territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

The Czech Minister named Azerbaijan as a strategic partner of Czechia and stressed the importance of development of economic cooperation along with political relations, improvement of contract-legal framework, establishment of intergovernmental economic commission. The Minister underlined that Czechia intended to open embassy in our country and stressed that this step would contribute to further development of bilateral relations. The meeting covered issues of international and regional importance and mutual cooperation within the framework of international organizations. After the meeting, joint press conference was held.

Elmar Mammadyarov also met Chairman of the House of Deputies of Czechia Miloslav Vilchek on the same day. The meeting envisaged necessary of economic, business and energy cooperation between the two countries, activity of interparliamentary friendship groups and increase of mutual visits and relations.