Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 10 /Trend, E.Mehdiyev/
2012 was a good year in the relations between the Netherlands and Azerbaijan, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Azerbaijan, Arjen Peter Uijterlinde, said in an interview with Trend.
"We look back on the year with many significant visits of ministers from Azerbaijan to the Netherlands and visits of Dutch ministers to Azerbaijan. We had deputy prime minister visiting Azerbaijan in September and this visit produced a very good dialogue between our two countries and good atmosphere for cooperation," Uijterlinde said.
He said in fact the visit of Dutch Deputy Prime Minister led to an agreement on bilateral investments treaty that we hope that can be signed in the new future. "So I think these are very positive developments. We have also seen the signing of a number of concrete projects of Dutch companies in Azerbaijan assisting the process of diversification of economy in the spheres of agriculture, water management and in the medical sphere. So, I am very encouraged by that and proud as an ambassador," Uijterlinde stated.
He thinks that notably the spheres of agriculture, logistics, water management and energy can be priorities for cooperation between the two countries. "I am speaking about energy in a broad sense, not only about oil and gas, but also the whole issues of energy efficiency and alternative energy. These are issues that we have an experience we can share with Azerbaijan. I think these are areas where we would like to see cooperation be intensified and we have may put results, but we can further deepen and expand the cooperation," Uijterlinde underlined.
Regarding the Netherlands' position on Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the ambassador said that his country's position on this issue is in line with the EU position on Nagorno-Karabakh. "We very much regret that the conflict still goes on and this protracted conflict is giving such a burden for the development in the region. We hope very much that the OSCE Minsk Group, as a facilitator, is able to give a new impetus to the negotiations process. We think the negotiated solution is acceptable for both sides," said the ambassador.
Arjen Peter Uijterlinde also spoke on Dutch-Azerbaijani cooperation within international organizations, saying that the two countries work together within the international organizations. He stated that the Netherlands recognizes the fact that Azerbaijan, as a leader in the region and as a member of the UN Security Council, plays an important role and has an important role to play.
"We really want to keep the dialogue with Azerbaijan on these issues. Also because we understand that Azerbaijan has an instrumental role in the operation in Afghanistan where in the NATO and ISAF context we work together with Azerbaijan," Uijterlinde said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.