Baku. Shamil Alibeyli – APA. Interview with the Ambassador of Switzerland in the Republic of Azerbaijan Pascal Aebischer
-How do you evaluate the level of political and economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Switzerland?
Our political, economic and cultural relations are developing in a dynamic and very positive way. There are regular mutual high-level visits on presidential, ministerial and parliamentary levels. President Ilham Aliyev also regularly participates in the World Economic Forum in Davos and paid a visit to the Swiss Confederation in October 2009. Two Swiss presidents have already paid a visit to your country. Last year President of the Swiss Council of States Filippo Lombardi held fruitful meetings in Baku. On a multilateral level, Azerbaijan belongs to the constituency chaired by Switzerland at the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and it is of special significance for cooperation.
Such positive ties create firm grounds for successful economic cooperation. As you know, last year the Azerbaijani government made a decision on Shah Deniz-2 in favor of the Trans Adriatic pipeline which was promoted - among others - by a Swiss company. At the same time, Azerbaijan becomes more and more attractive for Swiss companies. There are some 70 Swiss companies in Azerbaijan covering a wide range of business fields.
In the field of international cooperation, Switzerland has allocated some USD 80 million since 2001 and will invest another USD 30 million till 2016 in Azerbaijan. These funds are used in different areas including agriculture and rural development, private sector development, financial sector reforms, macroeconomic support and public utility services thus contributing to economic development and good governance as well as to improve the living standards of Internally Displaces Persons.
- This year Switzerland chairs the OSCE. How do you see the prospective of Nagorno Karabakh settlement process in terms of Swiss contribution to peace process?
The Swiss Chairmanship is guided by the motto “Creating a Security Community for the Benefit of Everyone”. Security and stability are extremely important for the prosperity of people in all parts of Europe. As the President of the Swiss Confederation and OSCE Chairman-in-Office Didier Burkhalter recently stated, the OSCE will work hard to move forward the settlement of protracted conflicts, including the conflict on Nagorno Karabakh. The Swiss Chairmanship supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group and encourages contacts between the civil societies of Armenia and Azerbaijan. It will try to facilitate people-to-people contacts at different levels and hopes that high-level mediation efforts and civil society initiatives will mutually reinforce each other. Of course, progress will not come overnight and the settlement of the conflict will need strong commitment from the involved parties. We hope that in May 2014 the 20th anniversary of the 1994 ceasefire agreement will be commemorated in a spirit of reconciliation. We believe that the region would benefit from the resolution of the conflict.
- Switzerland brokered the process of normalization of ties between Turkey and Armenia. Is there any plan to continue this process in near future?
The peaceful coexistence of nations is one of the primary foreign policy objectives of Switzerland. Switzerland’s neutrality has allowed the country to act as facilitator or mediator in various contexts. Switzerland and Geneva in particular, has a tradition of hosting high level meetings and conferences. Switzerland offers its good offices for safeguarding the interests of countries which otherwise have no diplomatic relations with each other. Thus, for example, it represents US interests in Cuba and Iran, and Cuba’s interests in the US. Switzerland assumes a similar mandate for Russia and Georgia.
Switzerland acted as a facilitator in the process which led to the signing of the Armenian-Turkish protocols on 10 October 2009 in Zurich. Switzerland welcomes efforts in both societies and by both governments to normalize relations. We encourage both countries to work towards normalization, although it is, of course, up to the two sides to determine the course and speed of rapprochement.
- Shall we expect bilateral visits this year?
The Swiss president and Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE Didier Burkhalter envisages a visit to Azerbaijan and the other countries of the South Caucasus before the summer break.
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