Croatian, Azerbaijani presidents discuss economic ties, terrorism
HINA news agency
10 Jun 05
Zagreb, 10 June: Croatia wants to intensify cooperation with
Azerbaijan in all areas, particularly in the economy, because
Azerbaijan will become a new Norway once it uses its potential,
Croatian President Stjepan Mesic said after talks with Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev in Zagreb on Friday [10 June]. Aliyev arrived
in Croatia on Friday for a three-day visit and the first official
meeting of the two countries’ presidents.
Addressing reporters after the meeting at a joint news conference,
President Mesic said Croatia and Azerbaijan today signed an agreement
on cultural cooperation, a protocol on cooperation between the two
Foreign Ministries, and a memorandum on cooperation between the
countries’ civil aviation authorities.
Mesic said that Azerbaijan would benefit greatly from the opening of
an oil pipeline running via its territory from the Caspian Sea. The
income which Azerbaijan will earn from oil transport will be counted
in billions of dollars which the country will use to solve its current
problems and which will make it a new Norway, Mesic said.
The Croatian president said the talks also focused on the situation in
the regions where the two countries were located, stating that
terrorism was one of the biggest threats in today’s world and that
efforts should be made to fight its causes, poverty and dependence of
some peoples.
Mesic said Aliyev invited him to visit Azerbaijan, which he accepted
gladly.
Addressing reporters, President Aliyev said his visit was not only an
important step in the development of bilateral relations and that his
decision to visit Croatia as the first country in the region also bore
witness to the importance which his country attached to Croatia.
Aliyev said he and Mesic reached a consensus on all issues they
discussed because the two countries had similar views and methods of
solving problems.
He went on to say that Croatia and Azerbaijan had a lot in common
because they had been deprived of independence for years, as well as
that they had suffered an act of foreign aggression.
He thanked Mesic for showing understanding for his country’s problems
and the need to liberate some of its regions, expressing hope that a
lasting peace would be established in Azerbaijan as it had been
established in South-East Europe.
He explained that his country had been exposed to aggression by
Armenia under the pretext of protection of Armenians in the Upper
Karabakh region.
There was no need for the aggression because Armenians have lived in
Upper Karabakh for more than 150 years and Azerbaijan offered them the
highest possible level of autonomy. The actual goal was the occupation
of territory, which was achieved with the assistance of foreign
military forces, Aliyev said, expressing hope that Azerbaijan would
regain sovereignty over its entire territory.
He went on to say that cooperation possibilities between the two
countries were best in the power industry, tourism and agriculture, as
well as in all other sectors of the economy. The Azerbaijani
delegation visiting Croatia also includes a group of business people.
The two presidents said they discussed the issue of opening diplomatic
offices, with Mesic saying that they discussed the opening of honorary
consulates.
President Aliyev said he hoped Croatia would become a permanent member
of the European Union and that it would help his country draw closer
to Europe.
The Azerbaijani delegation is visiting Croatia at the invitation of
President Stjepan Mesic. It will end its visit by visiting the
northern Adriatic archipelago of Brijuni.