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2012 was a very active year in terms of EU-Azerbaijan political dialogue

Azerbaijan Materials 3 April 2013 13:07 (UTC +04:00)
2012 was a very active year in terms of political dialogue between the EU and Azerbaijan, head of the EU office in Baku Roland Kobia said at the press conference on Wednesday.
2012 was a very active year in terms of EU-Azerbaijan political dialogue

Azerbaijan, Baku, April 3 / Trend A. Badalova /

2012 was a very active year in terms of political dialogue between the EU and Azerbaijan, head of the EU office in Baku Roland Kobia said at the press conference on Wednesday.

"That shows the EU's willingness to dialogue and work with Azerbaijan," Kobia said, adding that the EU wants the comprehensive dialogue with the country.

Kobia told about the main points of the European neighborhood policy (ENP) progress report - 2012. With regard to Azerbaijan, he said the report contains strong and weak sides of the country as well as the recommendations for Azerbaijan.

Among the positive aspects Kobia mentioned macroeconomic fundamentals which remains largely positive.

Azerbaijan started implementation of human rights action plan and continued judicial reforms which is the positive moment, Kobia said.

He also mentioned the progress of Azerbaijan in fighting money laundering and traffiking in human beings.

According to Kobia, significant progress was made in the strategic partnership in energy.

He mentioned ratification of the agreement on TANAP by parliaments of Azerbaijan and Turkey, and stated this was an important step towards the enhancing of mutual beneficial partnership between Azerbaijan and the EU.

Kobia also mentioned some areas where more progress is needed. He mentioned the negotiations on the association agreement. According to Kobia, 2012 was not a very active year in this regard with some gaps observed. However, he added that a lot of work have been done during the past four years on this issue.

"We want to continue these negotiations, and believe this is a wonderful opportunity for both parties to work together," Kobia said.

Kobia also stressed that the EU stands ready to help in effective implementation of all the EU's recommendations for its partners.

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