Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 13 November (BelTA) – Belarus has become an important venue for international negotiation processes. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan to Belarus Latif Gandilov made the statement during the conference held on 13 November to mark the 25^th anniversary of Belarusian-Azerbaijani diplomatic relations, BelTA has learned.

In particular, the diplomat said: “Belarus is one of the most important venues where many international issues get dealt with. The country commands growing respect of the international community. Without Belarus one can hardly imagine the discussion of substantial international topics, including security-related ones.” As an example the ambassador mentioned the recent meeting of the Core Group of the Munich Security Conference in Minsk.

The ambassador talked about his meeting with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko the day before. The forthcoming visit of the Azerbaijani head of state to Minsk was mentioned during the meeting. “It is important for both countries to advance the economy to a proper level,” the ambassador noted while talking about the topics the two heads of state are expected to discuss.

The ambassador also stressed that Belarus and Azerbaijan have been connected by contacts for a long time. He drew attention to the heroic deeds committed by the Belarusian and Azerbaijani nations during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

During the conference Deputy Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus, Chairwoman of the Belarusian Union of Women Marianna Shchetkina spoke about the importance of preserving historical memory. She noted that Azerbaijanis made their own contribution to Belarus’ liberation during the Great Patriotic War. Memory of those events is immortalized in the names of streets and in obelisks.

Marianna Shchetkina drew attention to the fact that Belarus and Azerbaijan share a common stance on many modern topics. The commonality of approaches has been noted by the leaders of Belarus and Azerbaijan. According to the senator, over the 25 years of diplomatic relations genuinely good political and economic contacts have evolved between the two countries. She mentioned effective interparliamentary contacts – there are friendship groups in the parliaments of Belarus and Azerbaijan. Tight cooperation across the board continues and the sides keep finding new contact points for effective cooperation.

Their own vision of the state and prospects of bilateral contacts was also offered by Belarusian First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Yeudachenka, the former Belarusian ambassador to Azerbaijan Nikolai Patskevich, representatives of the Emergencies Ministry, the Internal Affairs Ministry, the Defense Ministry, the Culture Ministry and the CIS Executive Committee. Heads and representatives of foreign diplomatic missions also took part in the conference.

The conference was organized by the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Belarus. It was held in the run-up to the forthcoming visit of the Azerbaijani head of state to Minsk.