Azerbaijan, UAE sign MoU

Baku, May 23, AZERTAC Azerbaijan's State Committee for Standardization, Metrology and Patent and Emirates Authority of the United Arab Emirates have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for mutual recognition of conformity certificates and conformity marks as the UAE's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan has met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov as part of his visit to the country. Prior to the signing ceremony, the ministers hailed the development of political relations between the two countries, emphasizing both countries' mutual respect and support for each other's territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of internationally recognized borders. They noted that the solid foundation of the relations between Azerbaijan and the UAE was established during the historic meeting between national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev and Founding Father of UAE Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, on the sidelines of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Casablanca Summit in 1994. They underlined that bilateral relations between the two countries further strengthened and deepened through the joint efforts of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. They noted the importance of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission, which was established in 2009, in developing bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy, energy, tourism, agriculture, healthcare, logistics, investments, petrochemical industry, banking and finance. The ministers praised the cooperation and exchange of experience between Dubai Jebel Ali Port and Baku International Sea Trade Port. Azerbaijani FM Elmar Mammadyarov noted that visa facilitation regime applied for UAE citizens enabled 30 times increase in the flow of tourists from the UAE to Azerbaijan in 2016 comparing 2015 and this tendency continues to grow. Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan noted with pleasure that his visit to Azerbaijan coincided with the closing ceremony of the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games which the country has successfully hosted. He expressed his hope that the Islamic Solidarity Games will contribute to strengthening of solidarity within the Islamic Ummah. FM Mammadyarov praised the successful participation of the UAE's athletes in the Islamic Solidarity Games. The two ministers also exchanged congratulatory letters on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between two countries.