BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 24. The EU and its leaders treat Azerbaijan and President Ilham Aliyev with special respect and attention, Yves Leterme, Former Prime Minister of Belgium told Trend.
"President Ilham Aliyev has demonstrated his readiness to provide people of Armenian origin living in Karabakh with unprecedented opportunities to benefit from the progress and prosperity of the region. I have visited Azerbaijan just recently and was impressed by the speed and volume of investments in infrastructure, education, security, social services and economic development. Deepening and strengthening cooperation with Azerbaijan meets the interests of the EU. In the economic sphere, there are still many opportunities for EU cooperation with Azerbaijani partners, in particular, in investing in the diversification of the country's economy and industry," he said.
Leterme believes that Azerbaijan also has the potential to become one of the transport and communication hubs between East and West.
"Azerbaijan is located in a critical region of Eurasia and plays a stabilizing role in a world full of tension and antagonism. The country has a significant untapped economic potential. Investing in security, stability and sustainable infrastructure, especially multimodal transportation and ICT infrastructure, is the key to using all the opportunities of geographical assets that Azerbaijan offers to European and Asian companies and investors. I am convinced that the policies and efforts carried out now will be very useful for the current and future generations of Azerbaijan and the entire Caucasus region," he said.
As a member of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, Leterme also thanked President Ilham Aliyev for the constant support and commitment to the work of the Center.