05 December 2023 16:14

On 5 December 2023, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov participated and delivered a speech at the meeting of foreign ministers of the Caspian littoral states in Moscow.

During the meeting, an exchange of views was conducted on the sectoral cooperation agenda among the Caspian littoral states in various fields, including economy, trade, investments, energy security, connectivity, environmental protection and others.

Speaking during the meeting, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov noted that holding such meetings plays an important role in discussing topical issues on the existing cooperation agenda in the Caspian region.

Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, noting that the current situation in the present system of international relations once again confirms the importance of respect for the norms of international law, in particular the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of borders of states, emphasized the importance of being guided by the aforementioned principles, as well as existing practices in international law, within the framework of the Caspian region.

The importance of strengthening the existing treaty-legal framework among the Caspian littoral states for the joint use of the Caspian Sea for the purposes of peace, friendship and solidarity, as well as the entry into force of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea as soon as possible, was noted.

It was stated that there is broad potential in a number of fields, including economy, trade, investments, alternative energy and others, among the states located in the Caspian Sea basin, which, along with being rich in hydrocarbon resources, occupies an important geostrategic position, and that the use of this potential, in turn, could also contribute to the development of transport and communications, infrastructure and technologies in the region. In this regard, confidence was expressed that the use of the opportunities of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route would also contribute to the development of the East-West and North-South transport corridors.

It was stated that one of the most important challenges facing the Caspian littoral countries is the shallowing of the Caspian Sea and the resulting environmental problems, that Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, has put forward an initiative to establish a relevant expert group in this direction, and that work is currently underway to organize a relevant meeting of experts in Baku.

It was noted that the holding of the 6th Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on the Caspian Sea in Baku in October 2022 and the discussion of issues arising in connection with the implementation of the Framework Convention played a useful role. In this regard, hope was expressed that the agreement reached on holding the first meeting of the special expert group on organizing the activities of the Secretariat of the Framework Convention in Baku on 18-19 December of the current year would create an opportunity for constructive dialogue.

At the end of the event, a statement reflecting the issues discussed was adopted.