Baku, Azerbaijan, April 24
Trend:
The summit of the EU Eastern Partnership programme has today started in Prague, the Czech Republic.
The summit was dedicated to the 5th anniversary of the Prague Eastern Partnership Summit held in 2009.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the summit.
The summit started with an official welcome of heads of states and governments at Prague Castle.
A guard of honor was lined up for the heads of states and governments at the square, which was decorated with the national flags of the participating countries.
President of the Czech Republic Milos Zeman welcomed Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
The national anthem of the Republic of Azerbaijan was played.
The heads of states and governments had their photos taken together. Then the first meeting of the summit was held. President Ilham Aliyev addressed the meeting.
Opening the summit, President of the Czech Republic Milos Zeman welcomed the heads of states and governments of the participating countries.
He noted that the Eastern Partnership programme had passed the great development way in the last five years.
Highlighting the future tasks, the Czech president expressed confidence that the cooperation will be continued in bilateral and multilateral formats.
European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule congratulated the event participants on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership Summit.
Then the discussions started.
The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is an initiative of the European Union governing its relationship with the states of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Armenia intended to provide a venue for discussions of trade, economic strategy, travel agreements, and other issues between the EU and its eastern neighbors.
The project was initiated by Poland and a subsequent proposal was prepared in co-operation with Sweden. It was presented by the foreign minister of Poland and Sweden at the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on 26 May 2008.
The Eastern Partnership was inaugurated by the European Union in Prague in May, 2009.
The second Summit was held in Warsaw in September, 2011, while the third Summit in Vilnius in November, 2013.
