Brussels, Belgium, March 12
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev has expressed hope that by the end of 2018, in any case, by the next Eastern Partnership meeting, Azerbaijan and the EU will complete talks on the new strategic partnership agreement.
Azerbaijan and the European Union are very close to complete the sectorial talks on the new strategic partnership agreement, he said March 12 addressing an event dedicated to the launch of new institutional set-up of Eastern Partnership initiative in Brussels, Belgium.
“Last year we began negotiations on the new strategic partnership agreement. Our negotiations are going on three areas: political sector, trade and investments, and sectorial,” said the deputy foreign minister.
Mammad-Guliyev noted that in political sector the sides have made some progress, adding that the next round of talks on this sector will be in April in Baku.
“In sectorial talks, we are very close to completion. There are just a couple of issues to be agreed. I hope that we will complete the sectorial talks during the meeting on March 16,” he said.
Regarding the trade and investment sphere, Mammad-Guliyev said there are some problems in this field. “Azerbaijan is still not a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). We are going to find a way to solve the problems and make progress,” he explained.
