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Swedish MFA: New EU-Azerbaijan agreement to deepen bilateral relations (Exclusive)

Politics Materials 21 May 2019 17:21 (UTC +04:00)
New partnership agreement between Azerbaijan and the European Union (EU) will deepen bilateral relations.
Swedish MFA: New EU-Azerbaijan agreement to deepen bilateral relations (Exclusive)

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:

New partnership agreement between Azerbaijan and the European Union (EU) will deepen bilateral relations, Swedish Foreign Ministry told Trend.

“Currently a new EU-Azerbaijan agreement is being negotiated, which will deepen the relations between EU Member States and Azerbaijan. The Eastern Partnership is also an important instrument for the relations,” said the ministry.

Further, talking about bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Sweden, the ministry said that in 2018, exports from Sweden to Azerbaijan increased by 25 percent and imports by 24 percent, confirming a positive trend for bilateral trade.

“Sweden upgraded its presence in Azerbaijan by opening an embassy in 2014. This provides new opportunities for increasing the bilateral relations between the two countries. Azerbaijan is also represented by an embassy in Sweden. Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström visited Azerbaijan in February 2016 and the following year Azerbaijani Minister for Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov visited Sweden. For the moment there are no plans for high level bilateral visits. On the 14th of May however, Ministers Wallström and Mammadyarov both participated at the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership High Level Conference where they discussed the future of the partnership,” said the foreign ministry.

The European Council adopted a mandate for the European Commission and the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy to negotiate, on behalf of the EU and its member states, a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan in November 2016.

The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today.

The agreement will follow the principles endorsed in the 2015 review of the European Neighborhood Policy and offer a renewed basis for political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan.

Currently, bilateral relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are regulated on the basis of an agreement on partnership and cooperation that was signed in 1996 and entered into force in 1999.

The new agreement envisages the compliance of Azerbaijan’s legislation and procedures with the EU’s most important international trade norms and standards, which should lead to the improvement of Azerbaijani goods’ access to the EU markets.

Creation of a common aviation area is an initiative of the European Commission and aims to open and integrate aviation markets. This will lead to new opportunities for consumers and operators, and, most importantly, to high standards in terms of flight safety as well as air traffic management.

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