BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 26. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Fariz Rzayev visited Austria on August 22 through August 25, 2023, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a Trend report.
During the visit, Rzayev held bilateral meetings with Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, Secretary General of the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of Austria; Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); and Niklas Hedman, Acting Director of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs. He also took part in the opening ceremony of the exhibition entitled "Place Azerbaijan in Outer Space: The 74th International Astronautical Congress, Baku, Azerbaijan" at the Vienna Office of the United Nations.
At the meeting between Rzayev and the Secretary General of the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, Launsky-Tieffenthal, the bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Austria, the current state, and prospects for the development of cooperation in the political, economic, and humanitarian spheres within the framework of international organizations, were discussed.
The Austrian side was informed about the current situation in the region in the post-conflict period, about the ongoing activities of Azerbaijan to establish peace and security in the region, as well as about the provocations committed by Armenia.
In addition, during the meeting with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, discussions were held on the developing relations of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the IAEA, the use of nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes, projects implemented in Azerbaijan within the framework of the IAEA technical cooperation program, and the successful experience of using nuclear technologies in the field of agriculture.
Moreover, at a meeting with the Acting Director of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, Niklas Hedman, it was noted that successful cooperation relations have developed between this department and Azerbaijan. It was highlighted that in recent years Azerbaijan has become one of the fastest-growing countries in the field of space industry and has achieved significant success, and that the holding of the International Astronautical Congress in Azerbaijan, which is the world's largest event in the field of space industry, is a vivid example of this.
Rzayev, speaking at the opening ceremony of the exhibition "Place Azerbaijan in Outer Space: The 74th International Astronautical Congress, Baku, Azerbaijan", informed in detail about the activities of the space industry of Azerbaijan.
He noted that 2023 was declared the "Year of Heydar Aliyev" in Azerbaijan and stressed the importance for the country that this year's 74th International Astronautical Congress in Baku coincides with the 100th anniversary of the birth of the national leader. He also said that exactly 50 years ago, in 1973, during the leadership of the republic by national leader Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan hosted the 24th International Astronautical Congress.
Rzayev informed about the role that the national leader played in the life of Azerbaijan in the first years of the country's independence and stressed that today Azerbaijan's achievements in all spheres, including the space industry, are the results of the far-sighted policy and strategy of Heydar Aliyev.
In addition, the experience and successes achieved by Azerbaijan in the field of outer space have been successfully applied to the restoration and reconstruction of territories liberated from occupation.
The event was attended by Niklas Hedman, Acting Director of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs; Jean Luc Lemahieu, Executive Director of the UN Vienna Office; Rena Jafarova, Project Manager of the 74th International Astronautics Congress and Head of the Azercosmos Department; Pascale Ehrenfreund, former President of the International Astronautical Federation; and other guests.