First meeting of Azerbaijan-Bulgaria Strategic Dialogue held

The first meeting of Azerbaijan-Bulgaria Strategic Dialogue has been held in Sofia as part of Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov`s official visit. Azerbaijan`s FM met with Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva to discuss bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria. They stressed the importance of the bilateral ties saying they are based on international legal norms and principles, sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of borders, mutual respect and understanding. The foreign ministers hailed the current state of cooperation between the two countries, adding that there are big opportunities to widen cooperation in the fields of energy, transport, agriculture, tourism, ICT and environment. Mammadyarov invited his Bulgarian counterpart to attend a meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), which is to be held in Baku on December 14. Then the first meeting of Azerbaijan-Bulgaria Strategic Dialogue was held. The meeting discussed a wide range of topics, including bilateral economic and trade relations, implementation of energy, transport and transit projects, relations between Azerbaijan and the EU and current state of negotiations on a new agreement, cooperation between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria within regional organizations.