Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3
Trend
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov received the participants of News Agencies World Congress in Baku, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry told Trend on June 2.
Minister Mammadyarov talked about Azerbaijan's achievements in the political, economic and social spheres.
Mammadyarov explained that thanks to successful political and economic reforms over the last ten years, Azerbaijan's GDP has tripled and poverty rates have dropped from 49 to 5 percent Furthermore, the reforms created good conditions for doing business in Azerbaijan.
The minister also stressed the significance of oil and gas pipelines such as BTC (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan) and South Caucasus Pipeline (also known as Baku - Tbilisi - Erzurum) and gas pipelines as TAP (Trans Adriatic Pipeline) and TANAP (Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline), which will be built, noting that they will contribute to Europe's energy security.
He also highlighted the development of Azerbaijan's non-oil sector emphasizing that the Baku -Tbilisi-Kars railway will play an important role in increasing regional transport capacity.
Lastly, the participants learned about the current status of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The minister explained that 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory is occupied, and Armenia is carrying out the policy of ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijani population.
"Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the immediate, unconditional and complete withdrawal from the occupied territories," he said.
"The implementation of these resolutions is required for the conflict's settlement."
Before concluding the meeting, the foreign minister responded to the participants' questions.