Azerbaijan, UK discuss prospects for developing relations

Baku, July 28, AZERTAC Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has met with a British delegation led by MP, chair of Azerbaijan All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) Bob Blackman. FM Mammadyarov briefed the delegation on the current state of relations between Azerbaijan and UK, as well as the key areas of cooperation. The Azerbaijani Minister praised the country's cooperation with BP in the energy sector, including the development of Azerbaijan's oil and gas fields and the realization of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which, he said, was considered the key route for the export of crude oil. The Azerbaijani FM highlighted the regional projects which were initiated by the country, underlining their benefits to the participating states and the whole region. Mammadyarov emphasized the essence of the North-South and East-West transport corridors and the targets set forward, providing an insight into the steps taken by the country in this regard. Saying Azerbaijan could be a model to the world for its traditions of multiculturalism and tolerance, the FM noted that people of different religions had lived together in peace in the country for centuries. Pointing to the history of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the current state of negotiations on the conflict settlement, FM Mammadyarov drew the British parliamentarians' attention to Azerbaijan`s stance. The British MPs praised the development processes and achievements of Azerbaijan in a variety of fields.