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in Baku from this very important visit. I am sure that the spirit of partnership will
dominate the positive development in our bilateral affairs. And we will see more
good news in the coming months.
Once again, Mr. President, thank you for coming. Wish you all the best and
pleasant stay in Baku.
Statement by President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso
Thank you! Thank you Mr. President. It is indeed a pleasure to be here today in
Baku following the very kind invitation of President Aliyev.
I had an excellent meeting with President Aliyev – very open, very friendly,
very sincere. We have discussed significant issues that are of strategic importance
for the relationship between Azerbaijan and the European Union. We covered full
range of relations between the European Union and Azerbaijan – relations which
are developing in importance and depth day by day. I would like to thank you for
the hospitality. In fact, I will stay here tomorrow as well. I will have the opportunity
to speak at the historic and very important Baku State University. We know well
that Azerbaijan was the first democratic republic in the Muslim World, and we also
know the significance of that university. So, thank you very much for the hospital-
ity, for what I believe started to become, in fact, a very important visit.
The European Union supports the reform efforts that are taken under the leader-
ship of President Aliyev. Today the President told me that the values set forth in the
“Eastern Partnership” of the Union are the values that he takes as inspiration for the
modernization of his country. We have discussed this with the President himself and
noted that democracy, rule of law, and respect to human rights are crucial issues in
our relations.
A key to the implementation of our bilateral partnership is a new Association
Agreement. The talks on this agreement were launched half a year ago. They are
progressing well. The purpose is to deepen our strategic links and bring Azerbaijan
closer to the European Union’s market of a billion people. I am also pleased to an-
nounce that we will start negotiations on a visa facilitation agreement in the near
future. This will make it easier for the Azerbaijani people to travel to the European
Union. So, it is not just the markets that have to be close, but also people that should
be closer.
The European Union is deeply committed to helping Azerbaijan’s political and
economic reforms. We believe that these issues will remain substantial as part of
our relations. In fact, Azerbaijan is contributing to that.
A driving force of our bilateral relations is the well-established energy coop-
eration. In my delegation, the Commissioner for Energy, Mr. Gunther Oettinger is
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present and we had a very important dialogue on this matter with President Aliyev.
Azerbaijan is indeed a strategic partner and ally in this field. We appreciate the key
role Azerbaijan plays as a producer and transit country. In fact, Azerbaijan was a
pioneer in energy diversification, when back in the 1990s of the last century; it
decided to initiate the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. Now, it is time to turn to
gas. In fact, we made great progress in this area today. We signed a Joint Declara-
tion on the establishment of the Southern Gas corridor, through which the European
Union will directly receive Azerbaijani gas. Realizing this corridor is in our shared
strategic interest.
It is vital for the security and diversification of our energy supply and demand.
Azerbaijan wants to diversify its exports as much as the European Union wants to
diversify its imports. The Southern Corridor will give Azerbaijan a reliable physical
access to the European Union energy markets, which is the world’s largest mar-
ket in energy. It therefore provides a long-term perspective for the development
of Azerbaijan. In the same way, we look forward to a swift location process for
the Shahdeniz II gas field. I hope this will enable us to announce the Azerbaijan-
European Union deal of the 21st century.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We also discussed many other issues beyond energy. We discussed a range of
international issues. I expressed my appreciation for Azerbaijan’s role on the global
stage, including its support for peace in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo. This is very
much appreciated in the European Union.
Looking at the immediate region, I shared my concerns on the lack of progress
in Nagorno-Karabakh. I expressed my deep sympathy to the families and communi-
ties who suffer from it. We believe it is time for all parties to make further efforts
for a swift peaceful solution. The work of the OSCE Minsk Group must therefore
continue. As you know, the European Union fully backs its efforts. I address to the
President and to you that I am concerned about families and communities suffered
from this conflict. It is time to make further efforts. Let me also stress that European
Union supports the principle of the territorial integrity of its partners, including
Azerbaijan. We are fully backing the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group and we are
ready funding confidence-building measures on the ground. We stand right to pro-
vide further support if agreed by all parties: political support to the peace process
and a concerted assistance once a settlement is agreed.
As you see, from this productive cooperation and from the agreements signed
today, the partnership between Azerbaijan and the European Union is strong and
flourishing. But, we can and must do more to tap its full potential, especially, in the
field of energy, but not only in the field of energy. That is why we have discussed
partnership formalization, the importance of education – the matter that I know is