OSCE Secretary General Greminger and Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Mammadyarov discuss ways to enhance co-operation

VIENNA, 10 February 2020 – OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger met with Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov today. They discussed current issues and co-operation between the OSCE and Azerbaijan.

Secretary General Greminger said that the OSCE is committed to supporting Azerbaijan in the implementation of its commitments in all three dimensions of security: the politico-military, the economic and environmental and the human dimension.

Greminger recalled that the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) deployed an Election Observation Mission to Azerbaijan to observe early parliamentary elections on 9 February, following an official invitation from the authorities. An initial assessment of the elections can be found here.

Minister Mammadyarov stressed that these elections should be viewed in the context of the reform process in Azerbaijan.

Minister Mammadyarov furthermore briefed Secretary General Greminger about his meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, which took place under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs on 28-30 January in Geneva. The Minister emphasized the importance of such detailed discussions on the substantive aspects of early conflict resolution, on the basis of the Helsinki Final Act principles. Greminger expressed his full support to the efforts of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs and welcomed the talks and concrete steps to prepare the populations for peace through intensified people-to-people contacts.

Greminger and Mammadyarov also discussed the current phase of implementation of the OSCE project on “Promoting Green Ports and Connectivity in the Caspian Sea Region”. The project aims at supporting Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in making the best use of renewable energy, digitalization and trade and transport facilitation to promote connectivity across the Caspian Sea and the wider region.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister invited Secretary General Greminger to visit Azerbaijan in the near future. Minister Mammadyarov announced that on the occasion of the Secretary General’s visit a conference on promoting green ports and connectivity will be organized in Baku.