Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 15
By Seba Aghayeva – Trend:
GUAM has become an important platform for cooperation among member countries, said Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Elmar Mammadyarov.
He made the remarks Dec. 15 during an opening of a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of GUAM, the organization for democracy and economic development.
GUAM is also important for joining efforts in the settlement of the conflicts existing in the area of the organization’s member countries, noted the Azerbaijani foreign minister.
The minister also noted the importance of development of the organization’s cooperation with other authoritative international organizations, in particular, with the United States (UN), Baltic Assembly, Visegrad Group.
Mammadyarov spoke about the importance of continuing efforts of GUAM member countries on progress of the draft resolution on protracted conflicts at the UN General Assembly.
“Ensuring security, restoration of territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders and sovereignty of GUAM member states is vitally important for GUAM countries and we should join our efforts on the settlement of conflicts,” added the minister.
The issues of cooperation in energy and transportation spheres provide good opportunities for the organization’s member states in order to expand the geography of cooperation and open new opportunities to enter new markets, said Mammadyarov.
The meeting, scheduled for 2017, of heads of governments of GUAM member countries will be an important event and will make a huge contribution to the development of transportation corridors, noted the minister.
He added that another important direction of cooperation of GUAM member countries is the joint fight against terrorism and international crime.
The GUAM format was created by the post-Soviet states in 1997 during the summit of heads of states of the EU in Strasbourg. In 1999, Uzbekistan joined the format and four years later withdrew. In 2006, Ukraine and Azerbaijan announced plans to further increase the GUAM member relations and established its headquarters in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.
Azerbaijan assumed the chairmanship in GUAM on January 1, 2016.