Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov received Jose Luis Cancela, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay who is visiting Azerbaijan
Elmar Mammadyarov noted that Azerbaijan attaches particular importance to the cooperation with Latin American countries in its foreign policy and emphasized the favorable opportunities for the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Uruguay.
During the meeting the sides, noting the importance of the visit for the development of relations between two countries, stressed the importance of intensified high-level reciprocal visits in the future.
Deputy Minister Jose Luis Cancela expressed his pleasure for visiting Azerbaijan and said that respect for territorial integrity of states is one of the corner stone principles of the foreign policy of Uruguay.
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said that it is unacceptable to change the internationally recognized borders of states by using force and spoke about the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan. He underlined that Armenia has not fulfilled demands of the relevant resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council. Elmar Mammadyarov noted that for settlement of the conflict first and foremost, Armenia must withdraw its troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
At the meeting the sides stressed the importance of development of the mechanism of political consultations between two countries and cooperation within international organizations.
Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov met with Jose Luis Cancela, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay in the framework of the first political consultations between Azerbaijan and Uruguay.
During the meeting Deputy Minister Khalaf Khalafov expressed his satisfaction with the development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Uruguay and noted that holding political consultations will further strengthen bilateral political dialogue. He gave detailed information about the geopolitical situation in our region and the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan. Noting the great potential for the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Uruguay in spheres of agriculture, energy and culture, Khalaf Khalafov emphasized the importance of high-level reciprocal visits for deepening relations, promoting countries and new cooperation opportunities. Noting the large-scale energy projects carried out by several Western companies in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Khalaf Khalafov stressed that today the Caspian region has become a major transportation corridor. He said that Azerbaijan is interested in the development of relations with Latin American countries, including Uruguay, however trade and economic relations don’t meet the potential of our countries and the development of political dialogue will give an impetus to the economic relations.
Expressing gratitude for the hospitality during his stay in Azerbaijan, Uruguayan diplomat said that the first political consultations will give an impetus to further development of relations. Jose Luis Cancela noted that Uruguay is interested in the cooperation with Azerbaijan in spheres of agriculture and energy and stressed the importance of development of appropriate legal framework and expansion of legal-treaty base for strengthening mutual cooperation. Saying that Azerbaijan gained great experience during its non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council, Jose Luis Cancela stressed that they are interested in getting experience of our country. He noted that Uruguay implementing policy to support the peace and stability in the region and the world and supporting the settlement of conflicts by peace, within the framework of international law. Deputy Minister Jose Luis Cancela noted that Uruguay respects international law and supports international law principles as a foundation of interstate relations and unequivocally supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and stressed that this position is not even a subject of debate. He emphasized the importance of our country as a main hub for the access to Central Asia and the Caspian region and highlighted that Azerbaijan would be a main spot for the economic policy of Uruguay in the region.
During the meeting the sides discussed other regional and global issues of mutual concern.