Azerbaijani Justice Minister meets monitoring group of Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Council of Europe

Baku, April 4 (AzerTAc). Azerbaijan`s Minister of Justice Fikrat Mammadov has today met with a monitoring group of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. According to press service of the Ministry, Mammadov praised Azerbaijan`s fruitful cooperation with the Council of Europe in the field of local self-government. He also hailed the Congress` role in creation and development of municipalities in the country. Head of the delegation, Mayor of Netherlands`s Katwijk Jos Wienen said the aim of the visit is to study the situation of local self-government and to assist development of the institute of municipality. The members of the delegations have also praised Azerbaijan`s relations with the Congress. The delegation has also been informed on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which resulted in occupation of 20% of Azerbaijani territory and displacement of 1 million refugees and IDPs. The meeting also discussed the issues of mutual interest including independence of municipalities and their relations with executive authorities. Head of the Baku office of the Council of Europe Konstantin Erokostopoulos attended the meeting.