Joint Press Conference of Foreign Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religion of the Republic of Costa Rica, Manuel Gonzalez Sanz
Ladies and gentlemen!
Welcome to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As you probably know, Manuel Gonzalez Sanz, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Costa Rica, is paying his first-ever official visit to Azerbaijan. In this regard, we could call the visit as the historical one.
Relationship with Latin American and Central American states is one of the important directions in the foreign policy agenda of Azerbaijan. Mutual official visits are being paid, in this regard, I may recall my official visit to the Republic of Panama last month and now we are hosting Foreign Minister of Costa Rica in Azerbaijan.
We discussed establishment of broader and comprehensive relations with the Central American countries at the multilateral meeting. We also exchanged views on cooperation in the framework of international organizations, including UN’s offices in New York and Geneva.
I briefed my counterpart about the current status of negotiations over Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and about issues relating to internally displaced persons.
In the field of economy, given the high development indication of Costa Rican economy, the investment by Azerbaijani side would be considered beneficial in this regard. There are also window of opportunities for cooperation in tourism sector.
Right after the press conference, Minister will have meetings at the ADA University and the Agreement on Cooperation will be signed as well. Meanwhile, treaty project on visa free regime for diplomatic and service passport holders are being considered by Azerbaijani side.
Q&A session:
Question: Mr. Minister, a pause is being observed on the negotiation process over Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. What would you say about a possible meeting of Presidents? Will you attend the OSCE’s Ministerial meeting to be held in Belgrade on December 2, 2015?
Elmar Mammadyarov: Co-chairs will be visiting the region next week, on October 26-28. We had comprehensive discussions on the preparation of the meeting between Presidents in New York. But we should still wait for the proposals by co-chairs. Right now, there are two options on the table: Presidents will define the issues to be discussed by themselves; second option is the discussions would be over the proposals suggested by co-chairs. By now, the issue is still open.
Azerbaijan will for sure attend the OSCE’s Ministerial Meeting.
Thank you!
The full video of the joint press conference can be obtained from the following link