Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt: We must all encourage Azerbaijan and Armenia to find a peaceful solution
12 September 2011 [16:00] - TODAY.AZ
APA’s interview with Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt.
This year you paid first official visit to Azerbaijan. How
do you estimate the results of the visit, and what are the prospects of
development bilateral relations between Sweden and Azerbaijan?
The visit provided an excellent opportunity for me to engage with
Azeri partners in a dialogue on a broad set of issues, both bilateral
and pertaining to the to EU agenda. One important message from the Azeri
side was their continued commitment to internal reform and integration
with the EU. We also talked about the need for Azerbaijan to step up its
efforts in the fields of human rights, democracy and good governance. I
reminded the Azeri Government of the importance of the upcoming "
Eurovision" Song Contest in this respect. In the coming year the European
audience, and especially the younger generation, will pay much more
attention to Azerbaijan, and the clear expectation will be that
Azerbaijan lives up to the high European standards in respecting the
fundamental rights of its citizens. I had the opportunity to reiterate
these points in talks also with representatives of civil society and the
political opposition.
As far as the bilateral agenda is concerned, there is a great potential
for increased cooperation. Our trade and commercial links should be
developed further. During my visit, I also took good note of a strong
wish to work together in the education sector, something that has
already resulted in a visit of a Ministerial delegation to Sweden. With
our common history linked to the BraNobel heritage, we have a firm basis
for developing our bilateral ties. Incidentally, the Eurovision Song
Contest is a good illustration of successful Azeri-Swedish cooperation!
How does Sweden assess the ongoing developments on Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict in the region? Do you believe that there were sufficient
efforts to advance the peace process although the negotiations went into
deadlock?
Clearly, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a cause for serious concern,
with implications not only for the two countries involved, but for the
entire region and the international community. We must all encourage
Azerbaijan and Armenia to find a peaceful solution, and Sweden supports
the efforts of the Minsk Group. But it is fundamental to point out that
peace cannot be achieved in the negotiating rooms only. The EU must support the process and
demonstrate to the peoples in the region that there are important gains
to be made from pursuing a peaceful path.
How do you evaluate the economic cooperation of Azerbaijan and the
European market? What is the most attractive for Swedish investors in
Azerbaijani market?
There is scope for increased economic cooperation between EU and AZ,
also to encompass other sectors than energy. The accession of AZ to the
WTO and a free trade agreement with the EU could facilitate closer
cooperation. A growing interest in Azerbaijan among Swedish investors can be
discerned. As of today, only a few Swedish enterprises are present in
the market. TeliaSonera and Ericsson are some examples. Sweden hopes to
develop closer business relations with Azerbaijan. We are planning for a
visit of a Swedish trade delegation before the end of the year. Since
the energy sector is of prime importance to the Azeri economy, there is
great scope for cooperation in green energy technology, energy
efficiency and renewables.
What is your opinion on promotion of the “Eastern Partnership”
program, considering that Sweden was one of the initiators of it?
The Eastern Partnership aims to strengthen and deepen contacts and
cooperation with the six Eastern European countries, including
Azerbaijan. The EaP – with EU integration at the core - is a clear
expression of solidarity and long-term engagement from the EU’s side.
Moreover, the EaP has helped mobilize attention to the Eastern
neighborhood amongst EU’s 27 member states. With the EaP, the EU as a
whole has renewed its focus on Eastern Europe and has rallied around an
ambitious agenda for the countries in question. The EaP has firmly
placed the Eastern partners at the top of the EU agenda – and rightly
so.
With the EaP, the countries in question are offered greater political
and economic integration with the EU. In return, the countries must
adhere to the values that underpin the European cooperation and progress
on internal reforms. The up-coming second Eastern Partnership Summit on
29-30 November in Warsaw will be a good opportunity to take stock of
progress made so far, and to set new policy goals for the future.
/APA/
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