TODAY.AZ / Politics

Azerbaijan & NATO discuss bilateral co-op

10 March 2023 [10:36] - TODAY.AZ

By Azernews

Sabina Mammadli

NATO Allied Land Command, Lt-Gen Mustafa Oguz discussed the development prospects of bilateral relations, Azernews reports per the ministry.

Prior to the meeting, the Turkish official visited the graves of Azerbaijani martyrs and the Turkish Martyrs' Cemetery erected in honor of the Turkish soldiers fallen in 1918. The guest paid tribute to their memory and laid flowers.

Furthermore, during the meeting at the ministry, the Azerbaijani defense minister expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the quake victims in Türkiye, noting that Azerbaijan “always stands by fraternal country”.

Then, Hasanov informed the guest about the reforms carried out in the Azerbaijan Army, the work done in the liberated territories, as well as the current situation on the Azerbaijani-Armenian conditional state border and the Karabakh economic region.

He also emphasized the importance of further developing mutual relations with NATO.

In turn, the Turkish official expressed his gratitude for the support provided after the earthquake and condoled over the Azerbaijani servicemen martyred as a result of the provocation committed by illegal Armenian formations on the morning of March 5.

He then expressed satisfaction with the positive results achieved in cooperation with Azerbaijan.

During the meeting, it was noted that Azerbaijan-NATO military cooperation is of special importance within the framework of the Operational Capabilities Concept (OCC).

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani First Deputy Defense Minister Col-Gen Karim Valiyev also met with the visiting guest.

At the meeting, the North Atlantic Alliance's contribution to the training of Azerbaijan Army Units as part of NATO's Operational Capabilities Concept (OCC) was highly appreciated, as well as the directions of joint activities against existing and potential threats were discussed.

In his turn, Lt-Gen Oguz expressed his satisfaction with the visit to Azerbaijan and highly appreciated the activities of the military personnel of the Azerbaijan Army in all fields including the professionalism of peacekeeping missions within the framework of partnership with NATO.

Relations with NATO started in 1992 when Azerbaijan joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. This forum for dialogue was succeeded in 1997 by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, which brings together all allies and partner countries in the Euro-Atlantic area.

Bilateral cooperation began when Azerbaijan joined the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program in 1994. Thanks to regular participation in PfP activities, Azerbaijan has been able to contribute actively to Euro-Atlantic security by supporting NATO-led peace-support operations.

Azerbaijan’s participation in the PfP Planning and Review Process (PARP) since 1997 has allowed NATO and individual allies to assist Azerbaijan in developing selected units to improve interoperability with those of the allies.

NATO and Azerbaijan started work on a jointly agreed Defense Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP) in 2008 to integrate NATO standards into the teaching methodologies and curricula of the country’s Professional Military Education (PME) institutions.

In 2018, Azerbaijan asked NATO to also involve the Military High School, a pre-commissioning school, in DEEP.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/politics/232593.html

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