No:121/19, Joint Press Conference of the Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Marija Pejčinović Burić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia, April 29, 2019
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov:
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear media representatives,
Welcome to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As you know, Marija Pejčinović Burić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia is on her first official visit to Azerbaijan. Ms. Burić was received by H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
I would like to note that Croatia recognized the independence of Azerbaijan on December 28, 1991 and the diplomatic relations were established on January 26, 1995.
Though the Office of Croatia has been operating in Azerbaijan for quite a long time, today the Embassy will be opened and it will be officially announced that the diplomatic mission will start functioning at ambassadorial level.
As it is known, the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership had been signed on March 11, 2013 during the official visit of H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Croatia. Today we discussed the cooperation issues in this regard as well.
I would like to underline that Croatia's position on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is absolutely clear. Croatia unambiguously supports Azerbaijan's sovereignty, territorial integrity and internationally recognized borders and has repeatedly stated its position on the solution of the conflict based on four UN Security Council resolutions.
As it is known, the trade turnover between the two countries is not high and we have exchanged views on further strengthening our bilateral relations, as well as energy cooperation. Croatia is very interested in the continuation of the South Gas Corridor project to the Western Balkans.
As you know, recently the second "One Belt, One Way" International Cooperation Forum was organized in Beijing and very useful discussions had been held. In this regard, we are interested in further strengthening our transport relations with the Balkan countries, especially with Croatia. Azerbaijan has significant infrastructure opportunities. During the meeting we also discussed these issues and I am confident that the Minister supports the initiatives of Azerbaijan.