ALGIERS- The Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad, Ramtane Lamamra, was received, Wednesday in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, by the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Azernews reported.
Earlier, the head of Algerian diplomacy was received by his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov, trend reported quoting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan. During the meeting, both sides signed two documents regarding the exemption of visas for holders of diplomatic and service passports as well as the holding of political consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries.
“An agreement was signed on the exemption of visas for holders of diplomatic and service passports, as well as a protocol on holding political consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries,” the Azerbaijani FM stated.
Besides, both officials touched on several issues of common interest, such as; the furthering of the dialogue between the foreign ministries and various institutions of the two countries, the development of energy and economic cooperation, and the creation of friendship groups between communities.
In addition to the bilateral framework, cooperation issues were discussed in multilateral international and regional formats, including the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The parties also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.
The tête-à-tête meeting was followed by a joint briefing, during which Lamamra expressed his gratitude for the warm reception, while shedding light on the importance of maintaining the current political dialogue and the intensity of bilateral contact between the two countries.
Mr. Lamamra emphasized, on this occasion, the need to create a Business Council between Azerbaijan and Algeria.
“It’s necessary to develop business contacts between our countries. To do this, we need to create a Business Council, which will contribute to the significant development of economic relations between Azerbaijan and Algeria,” he said.
According to the Minister, a more active exchange between the two ministries and governments is needed to realize the potential of cooperation between the friendly countries.
On another level, Mr. Lamamra highlighted Algeria’ support for the prospects of peace and stability in the South Caucasus on the basis of international law.
“We aim to contribute to this matter. The role of Algeria as the former chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Azerbaijan as the current chairman oblige to this,” he said.
The minister noted the productivity of the discussions he held with his Azerbaijani, expressing hope for further fruitful cooperation between the two countries.
Mr. Lamamra also briefed about the political processes in the Middle East, and the work done within the framework of the League of the Arab States and the African Union. He said that it is important to solve international problems in line with the norms and principles of international law.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his visiting Algerian counterpart in Baku, Bayramov welcomed the Algerian guest and conveyed his sincere congratulations on the 60th anniversary of Algeria’s independence.
He expressed his country’s willingness to form “normal relations with neighboring countries.”
“Azerbaijan is in favor of forming normal relations with neighboring countries. We can move towards the normalization of relations based on mutual respect of state borders,” Bayramov said.
Mr. Bayramov said he outlined “the return of the first internally displaced persons to their native Aghali village of the Zangilan district. This is the beginning of the first stage of the ‘Great Return’, trend reported.
“I briefed my colleague on the reconstruction activities, the return of former internally displaced persons to liberated Karabakh, as well as talked about the ongoing situation between Azerbaijan and Armenia, including the non-constructive approach of the Armenian side,” Bayramov added.
Bilaterally, the Azerbaijani Minister said that his country maintained good relations with Algeria on international platforms, adding that “great potential for cooperation exists in the economic sector”.
The minister noted that Algeria supports the initiatives of the Azerbaijani Embassy at a high level.
Stressing the importance of political dialogue and mutual visits between the two countries, the minister mentioned the historic visit of former Algerian Head of State, the late Abdelkader Bensalah to Azerbaijan to take part in the XVIII Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement and his meeting with the Azerbaijani president in October 2019. Furthermore, he noted with pleasure the participation of the Speaker of the People’s National Assembly of Algeria, Ibrahim Boughali, in the Baku Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network, as well as the participation of the Algerian representative in the Youth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.
As a reminder, Mr. Lamamra arrived Tuesday in Baku, Azerbaijan, for a two-day working visit as a special envoy of President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
A member of OPEC+, the Republic of Azerbaijan chairs the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) until the end of 2023 and takes part in the works of the Forum of Gas Explorer Countries (GEPF).
