Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 9
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
Azerbaijan and the EU have very intensive consultations on the new strategic partnership agreement, said Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.
He made the remarks at a joint news conference with EU High Representative Federica Mogherini following a meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council in Brussels on Feb. 9.
“We are working very intensively with regard to different chapters of the agreement,” Mammadyarov said. “It is not easy, I have to admit. Now we are negotiating trade chapter.”
“Azerbaijan continues working for accession to World Trade Organization (WTO),” he noted. “We are trying to find a way to solve the issue related to trade chapter.”
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.