ID :
40532
Wed, 01/14/2009 - 10:57
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/40532
The shortlink copeid
AZERBAIJAN SUCCESSFULLY CONTINUED ITS LINE OF FOREIGN POLICY
Baku, January 13 (AzerTAc). According to the press-service of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, in 2008, Azerbaijan successfully continued its line
of foreign policy aimed at ensuring the country’s sustainable development and
protection of the citizens’ rights.
Growth of the economic potential and
socio-political stability created favorable conditions for further strengthening the
country’s position both on the international arena and on the regional level,
developing and deepening relations with other countries bilaterally as well as in
multilateral framework, and collaborating effectively with international
organizations.
In his speech on 7 July at the third meeting of the heads of diplomatic missions and
consulates of the Republic of Azerbaijan, President I.Aliyev highly appraised the
work of the diplomatic service and set out future goals and tasks of the
foreign-policy office stemming from the interests of creating favorable foreign
policy environment for the further progressive development of the country.
During 2008, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan continued
to carry out its consistent activity on the settlement of the armed conflict between
Armenia and Azerbaijan based on respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and
inviolability of the internationally-recognized borders of Azerbaijan. The armed
conflict in South Ossetia (Georgia) clearly demonstrated the vulnerability of the
situation in the South Caucasus and the danger of the situation of “no war, no
peace”. The August events have shown how pernicious the ignorance of the basic
universal norms and principles of international law could be, and provided a new
impulse to international efforts for the settlement of conflicts in the region. It
was against this background that the negotiation process within the Minsk Group of
the OSCE was intensified.
Upon the initiative of the Russian Federation, a trilateral meeting of the
Presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia was held on November 2nd, which
resulted in their signing of the Moscow Declaration. The document expresses the
willingness of the sides to continue seeking ways for the settlement of the conflict
based on norms and principles of international law and the decisions and documents
approved within this framework. Both parties to the conflict as well as the Russian
mediator agreed that reaching a peaceful settlement would create a basis for the
economic cooperation between the parties.
Efforts continued to further consolidate the position of the international community
on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and elimination of its
consequences. On March 14th at the 62nd session of the United Nations General
Assembly (UNGA), a resolution submitted by Azerbaijan was adopted, which expressed
the continued respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of
Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders, demanded the immediate,
complete and unconditional withdrawal of all Armenian forces from all the occupied
territories, reaffirmed the inalienable right of the population expelled from these
territories to return to their homes and stressed that no State should recognize as
lawful the situation resulting from the occupation. It is important to point out the
paragraph in the resolution that recognizes the necessity of providing secure and
equal conditions of life for Armenian and Azerbaijani communities in the
Nagorno-Karabakh region with a view to create an effective democratic system of
self-governance to be built up in the region within the Republic of Azerbaijan,
which meets the OSCE’s Lisbon principles concerning the framework of the future
status of the region and security guarantees for all of its population.
Support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan was also clearly expressed at
the NATO Summit held in Bucharest on 2-4 April and at the Foreign Ministers Meeting
of the North Atlantic Council held in Brussels on 2-3 December, where the necessity
of settling the conflict based on these principles was emphasized.
A Joint declaration was adopted during the Meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council
held in Helsinki on 4-5 December, which took note of the constructive outcome of the
November meeting of the three Presidents and called on the parties to the conflict
to intensify negotiations in accordance with the provisions of the Moscow
Declaration. In their statements at the meeting, the absolute majority of the OSCE
Member-States have stressed the importance of compliance with the principle of
territorial integrity.
International Conference on “Basic Principles for the Settlement of the Conflicts on
the Territories of the GUAM States” was organized and held by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan on 15-16 April in Baku with the
participation of high-level representatives of from the invited Governments and
respected international experts in the field of international law. Discussions held
at the Conference showed that there is a unity of views on such issues related to
international law as the correlation of the principles of territorial integrity and
self-determination of peoples, consequences of unlawful use of force and
acquisitions of territory as well as the responsibility for violations of
international law and perspectives of involving international legal institutions.
In the framework of integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures,
Azerbaijan continued to develop its cooperation with the European Union and NATO.
Relations of integration with the European Union developed within the context of
implementation of the European Neighborhood Policy Action Plan and participation in
such programs as «Twinning» and «TAIEX». The initiative on Eastern Partnership gave
an additional impetus to the process of strengthening of Azerbaijan’s partnership
with and further integration into the European Union. The proposed initiative
creates conditions for the deepening of trade and economic, political and
humanitarian relations by concluding new association agreements, including on
free-trade, and the so-called “mobility and security pacts” allowing for the
loosening of the visa system.
Azerbaijan successfully continued its cooperation with NATO in areas of regional and
energy security, fight against terrorism, non-proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction, illegal drug and human trafficking, border security, elimination of
consequences of emergency situations, reforms in security and other areas. In March
of 2008, the second document on the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) was
adopted, launching the next cycle of IPAP implementation, which provides for deeper
political dialogue with NATO, realization of reforms in the area of defense and
security and cooperation in the sphere of science and public diplomacy.
Special attention was given to the economic component of Azerbaijan’s foreign
policy, realization of tasks on increasing the competitiveness, influence and role
of country in global and regional economic integration processes, protection of the
economic interests of Azerbaijan and its citizens abroad, ensuring energy security,
participation in the advancement of transnational energy and transport projects, and
consolidation of the country’s key position in regional infrastructure
communications.
Major efforts were concentrated on expanding and deepening cooperation within the
Organization for Democracy and Economic Development – GUAM. Within its chairmanship
in GUAM, Azerbaijan organized a number of events, including international
conferences “GUAM-Transit” and “GUAM Development Strategy” and continued to actively
promote the strategy of development of the GUAM transport corridor at transregional
and Eurasian dimensions.
In the context of the extended dialogue on energy, the Energy Summit was held in
Baku on 14 November. As a result of the high-level meeting, a Declaration was
adopted, which stressed the importance of continuing to pursue policies aimed at
diversifying the oil and gas supply routes from the Caspian basin to the world and
European markets. Participants of the Summit expressed their support for projects to
create a multi-vector infrastructure for the transport and transit of Azerbaijani
natural gas to regional and European markets so as to fully meet the needs of the
participating States.
Issues related to the expansion of cooperation in the field of energy were also
discussed at the international conference “Oil and gas potential of Azerbaijan and
Turkmenistan: energy, economy, ecology. Strategic cooperation” held in Baku on 8-9
November and at the trilateral meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Turkey and
Turkmenistan held in Turkmenbashi on 29 November.
Azerbaijan’s positions on the regional energy market were further strengthened by
the launch of energy investment projects in Georgia and Turkey, namely the opening
of the Black Sea terminal of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan in Kulevi region of
Georgia on 16 May and the beginning of a detailed elaboration of the project to
build an oil refinery in Ceyhan.
In 2008, Azerbaijan continued to collaborate with the interested countries on the
development of transport corridors “East-West” and “North-South”. In the framework
of the implementation of the project on the construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars
railway, the groundbreaking ceremony of the Turkish section of the railway was held
in Kars on 24 July with the participation of the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia
and Turkey. Azerbaijan also actively participated in the work of the Working Group
on the realization of the project on “North-South” transport corridor.
The Jubilee Conference of the Transport Ministers the of States Parties to the Basic
Multilateral Agreement on development of the Europe-Caucasus-Asia corridor (TRACECA)
was held in Baku on 3 December to mark the tenth anniversary of the International
Conference for Reconstruction of the Historical Silk Road. Issues related to the
extension of the transport corridor, joining of other neighboring countries to the
project and expansion and prospects of cooperation between the countries
participating in the project were considered at the event.
Throughout the year Azerbaijan actively participated in the work of the United
Nations and its specialized agencies, contributed to the process of implementation
of the Millennium Development Goals and supported the efforts of the UN
Member-States directed at strengthening the central role of this universal
organization in ensuring international peace and security.
Azerbaijan made an important contribution to the work of the subsidiary organs of
the UN, particularly focusing on issues related to the violation of norms and
principles of international humanitarian law. Thus, upon Azerbaijan’s initiative, on
annual sessions of the Human Rights Council and the Commission on the Status of
Women two resolutions were adopted, respectively on “Missing Persons” and “Release
of women and children taken hostage, including those subsequently imprisoned, in
armed conflicts”.
Special attention was devoted to ensuring better representation of Azerbaijan in
elected structures of international organizations. In 2008, Azerbaijan was elected
to the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council as well as to the Council of
Administration and Postal Operations Council of the Universal Postal Union.
Azerbaijan participated more actively within the Organization of Black Sea Economic
Cooperation (BSEC) and started preparations to assume chairmanship in the
organization in 2009.
Azerbaijan’s important role, experience accumulated by the country and its principal
attitude to the issues of transparency in the extractive industries became the main
reason for submitting at the 62nd session of the UNGA of a draft resolution
“Strengthening transparency in industries”, which was adopted unanimously. The
resolution was a significant step towards conferring international legality to the
initiative on transparency in extractive industries and establishing a legal
mechanism for ensuring honesty, transparency and accountability in this area.
Azerbaijan took an active part in the third Conference on Interaction and
Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), strengthening its coordinating role in
the implementation of confidence-building measures on security and effectiveness of
transport corridors.
As an integral part of the Islamic world, Azerbaijan continued developing close
cooperation with the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and contributed to the
increased role and influence of the organization in solving regional and global
problems. A unique geographic location on the junction of different cultures and
civilizations, traditions of tolerance and inter-communal peace, cultural and ethnic
diversity lead to the recognition of Azerbaijan’s role as a bridge between
civilizations. In light of this, at the Fifth Islamic Conference of Culture
Ministers, Baku was declared the Islamic Culture Capital 2009.
Among the initiatives put forward by Azerbaijan in 2008 in the area of development
of dialogue among civilizations, it is worth mentioning the forum held in Baku on
10-11 June on “Expanding the Role of Women in Cross-Culture Dialogue”. Another
important event in this area was the Conference of the Ministers of Culture of the
States Members of the Council of Europe organized in Baku on 2-3 December on
“Intercultural Dialogue: a Basis for Peace and Sustainable Development in Europe and
its Neighboring Regions”. The Conference resulted in the adoption of the Baku
Declaration and laid the foundation of the “Baku Process” that envisaged creation of
conditions for strengthening of cultural dialogue and coordination of activities in
sphere of intercultural dialogue among member-states as well as states partners.
Supporting Azerbaijan’s democratization processes, particularly of further
developing of civil society institutions, ensuring protection of rights and basic
freedoms of citizens, increasing the effectiveness of public administration and
other issues remained at the focus of the country’s cooperation with the Council of
Europe, its Parliamentary Assembly, OSCE/ODHR as well as with the leading
non-governmental human rights organizations. Presidential elections held in
Azerbaijan on October 15th were highly appraised by numerous local and international
observers and clearly demonstrated the adherence of the Government to the ideas of
pluralistic democracy, supremacy of law and respect for human rights, and to
consistent policy of strengthening the framework of a constitutional democratic
state.
Concurrently, Azerbaijan continued to develop its bilateral diplomatic relations.
Visits of President I.Aliyev during 2008 to Finland, Russia, Hungary, Poland, Italy,
Switzerland, Turkey, Romania, Georgia, Ukraine and Turkmenistan contributed to the
expansion of bilateral partner relations and consolidation of the country’s
positions on the international arena.
Moreover, in 2008 Azerbaijan successively expanded its diplomatic presence abroad,
opening an embassy in Syria and an office in Afghanistan. On the other hand,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Hungary and the European Commission have established their
diplomatic representations in Azerbaijan.
Further advancement of interaction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of Azerbaijan with other ministries and agencies, representative bodies,
academic centers, mass media, local non-governmental organizations and compatriot
unions abroad was highly conducive to the successful, effective and systematic
fulfillment of its tasks. Among other things, it is worth highlighting the combined
contribution of a wide range of government structures and the civil society of
Azerbaijan to the promotion of its foreign policy interests and the rise in the
international prestige of the country in 2008.
Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, in 2008, Azerbaijan successfully continued its line
of foreign policy aimed at ensuring the country’s sustainable development and
protection of the citizens’ rights.
Growth of the economic potential and
socio-political stability created favorable conditions for further strengthening the
country’s position both on the international arena and on the regional level,
developing and deepening relations with other countries bilaterally as well as in
multilateral framework, and collaborating effectively with international
organizations.
In his speech on 7 July at the third meeting of the heads of diplomatic missions and
consulates of the Republic of Azerbaijan, President I.Aliyev highly appraised the
work of the diplomatic service and set out future goals and tasks of the
foreign-policy office stemming from the interests of creating favorable foreign
policy environment for the further progressive development of the country.
During 2008, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan continued
to carry out its consistent activity on the settlement of the armed conflict between
Armenia and Azerbaijan based on respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and
inviolability of the internationally-recognized borders of Azerbaijan. The armed
conflict in South Ossetia (Georgia) clearly demonstrated the vulnerability of the
situation in the South Caucasus and the danger of the situation of “no war, no
peace”. The August events have shown how pernicious the ignorance of the basic
universal norms and principles of international law could be, and provided a new
impulse to international efforts for the settlement of conflicts in the region. It
was against this background that the negotiation process within the Minsk Group of
the OSCE was intensified.
Upon the initiative of the Russian Federation, a trilateral meeting of the
Presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia was held on November 2nd, which
resulted in their signing of the Moscow Declaration. The document expresses the
willingness of the sides to continue seeking ways for the settlement of the conflict
based on norms and principles of international law and the decisions and documents
approved within this framework. Both parties to the conflict as well as the Russian
mediator agreed that reaching a peaceful settlement would create a basis for the
economic cooperation between the parties.
Efforts continued to further consolidate the position of the international community
on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and elimination of its
consequences. On March 14th at the 62nd session of the United Nations General
Assembly (UNGA), a resolution submitted by Azerbaijan was adopted, which expressed
the continued respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of
Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders, demanded the immediate,
complete and unconditional withdrawal of all Armenian forces from all the occupied
territories, reaffirmed the inalienable right of the population expelled from these
territories to return to their homes and stressed that no State should recognize as
lawful the situation resulting from the occupation. It is important to point out the
paragraph in the resolution that recognizes the necessity of providing secure and
equal conditions of life for Armenian and Azerbaijani communities in the
Nagorno-Karabakh region with a view to create an effective democratic system of
self-governance to be built up in the region within the Republic of Azerbaijan,
which meets the OSCE’s Lisbon principles concerning the framework of the future
status of the region and security guarantees for all of its population.
Support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan was also clearly expressed at
the NATO Summit held in Bucharest on 2-4 April and at the Foreign Ministers Meeting
of the North Atlantic Council held in Brussels on 2-3 December, where the necessity
of settling the conflict based on these principles was emphasized.
A Joint declaration was adopted during the Meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council
held in Helsinki on 4-5 December, which took note of the constructive outcome of the
November meeting of the three Presidents and called on the parties to the conflict
to intensify negotiations in accordance with the provisions of the Moscow
Declaration. In their statements at the meeting, the absolute majority of the OSCE
Member-States have stressed the importance of compliance with the principle of
territorial integrity.
International Conference on “Basic Principles for the Settlement of the Conflicts on
the Territories of the GUAM States” was organized and held by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan on 15-16 April in Baku with the
participation of high-level representatives of from the invited Governments and
respected international experts in the field of international law. Discussions held
at the Conference showed that there is a unity of views on such issues related to
international law as the correlation of the principles of territorial integrity and
self-determination of peoples, consequences of unlawful use of force and
acquisitions of territory as well as the responsibility for violations of
international law and perspectives of involving international legal institutions.
In the framework of integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures,
Azerbaijan continued to develop its cooperation with the European Union and NATO.
Relations of integration with the European Union developed within the context of
implementation of the European Neighborhood Policy Action Plan and participation in
such programs as «Twinning» and «TAIEX». The initiative on Eastern Partnership gave
an additional impetus to the process of strengthening of Azerbaijan’s partnership
with and further integration into the European Union. The proposed initiative
creates conditions for the deepening of trade and economic, political and
humanitarian relations by concluding new association agreements, including on
free-trade, and the so-called “mobility and security pacts” allowing for the
loosening of the visa system.
Azerbaijan successfully continued its cooperation with NATO in areas of regional and
energy security, fight against terrorism, non-proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction, illegal drug and human trafficking, border security, elimination of
consequences of emergency situations, reforms in security and other areas. In March
of 2008, the second document on the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) was
adopted, launching the next cycle of IPAP implementation, which provides for deeper
political dialogue with NATO, realization of reforms in the area of defense and
security and cooperation in the sphere of science and public diplomacy.
Special attention was given to the economic component of Azerbaijan’s foreign
policy, realization of tasks on increasing the competitiveness, influence and role
of country in global and regional economic integration processes, protection of the
economic interests of Azerbaijan and its citizens abroad, ensuring energy security,
participation in the advancement of transnational energy and transport projects, and
consolidation of the country’s key position in regional infrastructure
communications.
Major efforts were concentrated on expanding and deepening cooperation within the
Organization for Democracy and Economic Development – GUAM. Within its chairmanship
in GUAM, Azerbaijan organized a number of events, including international
conferences “GUAM-Transit” and “GUAM Development Strategy” and continued to actively
promote the strategy of development of the GUAM transport corridor at transregional
and Eurasian dimensions.
In the context of the extended dialogue on energy, the Energy Summit was held in
Baku on 14 November. As a result of the high-level meeting, a Declaration was
adopted, which stressed the importance of continuing to pursue policies aimed at
diversifying the oil and gas supply routes from the Caspian basin to the world and
European markets. Participants of the Summit expressed their support for projects to
create a multi-vector infrastructure for the transport and transit of Azerbaijani
natural gas to regional and European markets so as to fully meet the needs of the
participating States.
Issues related to the expansion of cooperation in the field of energy were also
discussed at the international conference “Oil and gas potential of Azerbaijan and
Turkmenistan: energy, economy, ecology. Strategic cooperation” held in Baku on 8-9
November and at the trilateral meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Turkey and
Turkmenistan held in Turkmenbashi on 29 November.
Azerbaijan’s positions on the regional energy market were further strengthened by
the launch of energy investment projects in Georgia and Turkey, namely the opening
of the Black Sea terminal of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan in Kulevi region of
Georgia on 16 May and the beginning of a detailed elaboration of the project to
build an oil refinery in Ceyhan.
In 2008, Azerbaijan continued to collaborate with the interested countries on the
development of transport corridors “East-West” and “North-South”. In the framework
of the implementation of the project on the construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars
railway, the groundbreaking ceremony of the Turkish section of the railway was held
in Kars on 24 July with the participation of the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia
and Turkey. Azerbaijan also actively participated in the work of the Working Group
on the realization of the project on “North-South” transport corridor.
The Jubilee Conference of the Transport Ministers the of States Parties to the Basic
Multilateral Agreement on development of the Europe-Caucasus-Asia corridor (TRACECA)
was held in Baku on 3 December to mark the tenth anniversary of the International
Conference for Reconstruction of the Historical Silk Road. Issues related to the
extension of the transport corridor, joining of other neighboring countries to the
project and expansion and prospects of cooperation between the countries
participating in the project were considered at the event.
Throughout the year Azerbaijan actively participated in the work of the United
Nations and its specialized agencies, contributed to the process of implementation
of the Millennium Development Goals and supported the efforts of the UN
Member-States directed at strengthening the central role of this universal
organization in ensuring international peace and security.
Azerbaijan made an important contribution to the work of the subsidiary organs of
the UN, particularly focusing on issues related to the violation of norms and
principles of international humanitarian law. Thus, upon Azerbaijan’s initiative, on
annual sessions of the Human Rights Council and the Commission on the Status of
Women two resolutions were adopted, respectively on “Missing Persons” and “Release
of women and children taken hostage, including those subsequently imprisoned, in
armed conflicts”.
Special attention was devoted to ensuring better representation of Azerbaijan in
elected structures of international organizations. In 2008, Azerbaijan was elected
to the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council as well as to the Council of
Administration and Postal Operations Council of the Universal Postal Union.
Azerbaijan participated more actively within the Organization of Black Sea Economic
Cooperation (BSEC) and started preparations to assume chairmanship in the
organization in 2009.
Azerbaijan’s important role, experience accumulated by the country and its principal
attitude to the issues of transparency in the extractive industries became the main
reason for submitting at the 62nd session of the UNGA of a draft resolution
“Strengthening transparency in industries”, which was adopted unanimously. The
resolution was a significant step towards conferring international legality to the
initiative on transparency in extractive industries and establishing a legal
mechanism for ensuring honesty, transparency and accountability in this area.
Azerbaijan took an active part in the third Conference on Interaction and
Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), strengthening its coordinating role in
the implementation of confidence-building measures on security and effectiveness of
transport corridors.
As an integral part of the Islamic world, Azerbaijan continued developing close
cooperation with the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and contributed to the
increased role and influence of the organization in solving regional and global
problems. A unique geographic location on the junction of different cultures and
civilizations, traditions of tolerance and inter-communal peace, cultural and ethnic
diversity lead to the recognition of Azerbaijan’s role as a bridge between
civilizations. In light of this, at the Fifth Islamic Conference of Culture
Ministers, Baku was declared the Islamic Culture Capital 2009.
Among the initiatives put forward by Azerbaijan in 2008 in the area of development
of dialogue among civilizations, it is worth mentioning the forum held in Baku on
10-11 June on “Expanding the Role of Women in Cross-Culture Dialogue”. Another
important event in this area was the Conference of the Ministers of Culture of the
States Members of the Council of Europe organized in Baku on 2-3 December on
“Intercultural Dialogue: a Basis for Peace and Sustainable Development in Europe and
its Neighboring Regions”. The Conference resulted in the adoption of the Baku
Declaration and laid the foundation of the “Baku Process” that envisaged creation of
conditions for strengthening of cultural dialogue and coordination of activities in
sphere of intercultural dialogue among member-states as well as states partners.
Supporting Azerbaijan’s democratization processes, particularly of further
developing of civil society institutions, ensuring protection of rights and basic
freedoms of citizens, increasing the effectiveness of public administration and
other issues remained at the focus of the country’s cooperation with the Council of
Europe, its Parliamentary Assembly, OSCE/ODHR as well as with the leading
non-governmental human rights organizations. Presidential elections held in
Azerbaijan on October 15th were highly appraised by numerous local and international
observers and clearly demonstrated the adherence of the Government to the ideas of
pluralistic democracy, supremacy of law and respect for human rights, and to
consistent policy of strengthening the framework of a constitutional democratic
state.
Concurrently, Azerbaijan continued to develop its bilateral diplomatic relations.
Visits of President I.Aliyev during 2008 to Finland, Russia, Hungary, Poland, Italy,
Switzerland, Turkey, Romania, Georgia, Ukraine and Turkmenistan contributed to the
expansion of bilateral partner relations and consolidation of the country’s
positions on the international arena.
Moreover, in 2008 Azerbaijan successively expanded its diplomatic presence abroad,
opening an embassy in Syria and an office in Afghanistan. On the other hand,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Hungary and the European Commission have established their
diplomatic representations in Azerbaijan.
Further advancement of interaction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of Azerbaijan with other ministries and agencies, representative bodies,
academic centers, mass media, local non-governmental organizations and compatriot
unions abroad was highly conducive to the successful, effective and systematic
fulfillment of its tasks. Among other things, it is worth highlighting the combined
contribution of a wide range of government structures and the civil society of
Azerbaijan to the promotion of its foreign policy interests and the rise in the
international prestige of the country in 2008.
