Azerbaijani FM meets European Commissioner for Trade

Jerusalem, 18 February, 2020 (TPS) -- Azerbaijan`s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has met with European Commissioner for Trade Phil Hogan as part of his working visit to Brussels.

The meeting was held in a constructive and mutually beneficial partnership atmosphere. The sides discussed the issues of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union (EU), as well as the negotiations on a new agreement to constitute the legal basis of bilateral relations.

Phil Hogan expressed his confidence that the new agreement would give an impetus to raising the cooperation between the sides on a qualitatively new level.

FM Mammadyarov briefed Phil Hogan on the current status of negotiations on the new agreement, including the issues that are still open to discussions between the sides.

Commissioner Phil Hogan noted the importance of intensification of negotiations over the trade-related issues and suggested that the agreement is finalized before the Eastern Partnership Summit to be held in June of this year and initialed at this Summit meeting.

Minister Mammadyarov underlined that the Azerbaijani side is for the continuation of negotiations in a constructive manner, based on equal rights and interests of both sides.

The sides also hailed the contribution of the Southern Gas Corridor to European energy security and exchanged views on the completion of the Southern Gas Corridor and its further development through other projects.