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Elmar Mammadyarov announces priorities during Azerbaijani Chairmanship of CoE Committee of Ministers

23 May 2014 09:36 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Ramiz Mikayiloglu – APA. Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov announced Azerbaijan’s priorities during it chairmanship of the CoE Committee of Ministers.

Addressing the meeting of PACE Standing Committee, Elmar Mammadyarov said Azerbaijan will step up efforts to fight with corruption and hold an international conference on this issue, APA reports.

The FM noted that Azerbaijan, during its chairmanship, will pay special attention to the issues of human rights and education.

Talking about the events to be held in Azerbaijan throughout the year, Elmar Mammadyarov said intercultural dialogue will be a special priority: “Diversity of ideas is very important, we need to learn to listen to one another. I invite the PACE members to attend the events to be held in Azerbaijan”.

Elmar Mammadyarov said Islamic, Christian, and Jewish communities have historically coexisted in Azerbaijan in conditions of tolerance: “These three major religions co-exist in a small country like Azerbaijan. No anti-Semitism has been observed in Azerbaijan. This is the tolerance created as a result of our efforts”.

The FM mentioned that 70 percent of GDP in the South Caucasus is produced in Azerbaijan. Talking about Azerbaijan’s economic achievements, Elmar Mammadyarov said poverty has dropped to 5.3 percent in the country: “Azerbaijan has far-reaching plans. A conception has been adopted on development till 2020. The development primarily depends on the management of energy resources. The development of the gas sector beside the oil sector is also important. Contracts signed on the exploitation of the Shahdeniz gas field and TANAP pipelines are very important”.

Touching upon the Armenian occupation of the Azerbaijani territories, Elmar Mammadyarov said the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has a negative impact on the sustainable development of the whole region: “The UN has adopted 4 resolutions and the conflict should be resolved basing on these resolutions. The conflict should be resolved within the principles of territorial integrity and the return of IDPs and refugees to their lands. A number of the UN resolutions were fulfilled a day after. However, the resolutions regarding Azerbaijan remains unfulfilled since 20 years ago. This is related to double standards. Sooner or later, the UN resolutions will be fulfilled. Armenian troops will withdraw from the Azerbaijan’s territory, IDPs and refugees will return to their lands. And Armenia aslo will benefit from it”.