Unique model of SGC can be used in other areas

Caspian Energy (CE): Mr. Mammad-Guliyev, how successful was the last year for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan? How successful were the negotiations on a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the EU and on a country’s accession to the WTO?

Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan: The year 2017 was marked by positive dynamics in the EU-Azerbaijan relations. The visit of Mr. Ilham Aliyev to Brussels in early 2017 played a key role in this respect. During the visit meetings were held with the senior government officials of the European Union, and the issues on deepening equal and mutually beneficial partnership with the EU were discussed. The EU leaders expressed unequivocal support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Official Brussels called Azerbaijan as an important and reliable partner for the EU, and  stressed that the strategic cooperation in the energy sector plays an important role in the EU-Azerbaijan ties.

The visit also marked an official start of the negotiation process for a new comprehensive agreement. The new bilateral document will bring the cooperation with the EU to a new strategic level and secure a solid legal framework for closer and effective development of equal and mutually beneficial partnership. It will also open up opportunities for large-scale cooperation in the field of political dialogue, trade, investment, economy, legislation and culture. During the past year the sides were involved in the intensive negotiation process, both in Baku and in Brussels, and in the format of video conferences as well. The negotiation process is divided into 3 big parts: political, trade-economic and sectoral. Certain clauses of the agreement have been already agreed, while on others discussions are being finalised. However there are still many questions on which the parties continue discussions to find common ground. In general, considering the progress achieved, the past year can be considered successful for the negotiation process.

As far as the process of Azerbaijan’s accession to the WTO is concerned, in July 2017 our delegation visited Geneva. During the visit the Azerbaijan’s delegation held bilateral negotiations on goods and services with the representatives of the United States, the EU, Japan, Thailand, Brazil, Russia, Switzerland and India, held the multilateral meeting on domestic support for agriculture, and attended the 14th meeting of the Working Group on Azerbaijan.

The matter of setting a specific time frame for joining the WTO can be considered as soon as the process of diversification within the non-oil sector yields results and the priority sectors of economy show stable growth. In this regard, the first results of the economic reforms are expected by 2020.