{"id":3558,"date":"2013-04-22T10:35:03","date_gmt":"2013-04-22T08:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/azconsulate.sk\/?p=3558"},"modified":"2013-04-22T10:35:03","modified_gmt":"2013-04-22T08:35:03","slug":"minister-lajcak-on-official-visit-to-azerbaijan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.azconsulate.sk\/en\/news\/minister-lajcak-on-official-visit-to-azerbaijan\/","title":{"rendered":"Minister Laj\u010d\u00e1k on official visit to Azerbaijan"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of his tour in the South Caucasus region, Miroslav Laj\u010d\u00e1k, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, paid an official visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan. Together with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, they assessed the state of projects designed to strengthen Europe\u2019s energy security, as well as extending bilateral trade and investment cooperation between Slovakia and Azerbaijan. With Prime Minister Artur Rasizade, they identified prospective areas of cooperation like construction, energy, agriculture, as well as tourism.
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\nSlovakia strives for balanced relations with the countries in this region, which was confirmed by the head of Slovak diplomacy at the meeting with his Azerbaijan counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov. \u201cSlovakia wants to talk openly with Azerbaijan, as well as our other partners in this region about all issues. We sincerely care about the development of relations in the region, as well as about building mutual trust \u2013 especially in solving the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh,” stated the head of Slovak diplomacy. In this regard, Minister Laj\u010d\u00e1k emphasized the need for renewing the negotiation process.
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\nIn the bilateral sphere, Minister Laj\u010d\u00e1k conveyed Slovakia\u2019s interest in the intensification of mutual political dialogue, completing the legal and contractual basis, as well as development of economic relations between our countries, which is by no means fully utilized. This was also the reason for a group of entrepreneurs being part of the Minister\u00b4s Laj\u010d\u00e1k delegation, which explored opportunities for deepening mutual cooperation. We can see the biggest opportunities in energy, modernization of the transport infrastructure, production cooperation, as well as in agriculture and tourism.
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\nThe head of Slovak diplomacy stated that the Eastern Partnership project is one of Slovakia\u2019s foreign policy priorities. The Slovak Republic is ready and willing to share experiences in terms of the transformation of society with Azerbaijan partners. Laj\u010d\u00e1k expressed the conviction that the upcoming Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius will be successful and will confirm the viability of this initiative. \u201cI would like to appreciate the attitude of Azerbaijan in securing the EU energy security and the interest in participating in projects that provide for the diversification of energy supplies to Europe,\u201d he stressed. In this regard he offered Slovakia help in transporting Caspian gas and oil to European markets. (You can find the voice recording from the press conference of both ministers on the website of the ministry.)
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\nAt the end of his stay in Baku, Minister Laj\u010d\u00e1k will give an address at the first world-wide forum of graduates of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) tomorrow (April 12, 2013). MGIMO is his former alma mater.<\/span><\/p>\n

SOURCE: <\/strong><\/span> <\/strong>\u00a9 Ministerstvo zahrani\u010dn\u00fdch vec\u00ed a eur\u00f3pskych z\u00e1le\u017eitost\u00ed Slovenskej republiky<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\t\t