FMA reviews 2011

Last October Azerbaijan won the votes of 155 countries to be elected a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2012-2013.

"This victory was one of the biggest achievements of Azerbaijani diplomacy and can be seen as a brilliant indication of Azerbaijan’s growing influence in the world. Azerbaijan is the second post-Soviet country (the first in the South Caucasus and Central Asia) to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council," the Foreign Ministry noted in a press release to review 2011.

"Azerbaijan's non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council will last from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013. Azerbaijan will chair the Security Council twice in 2012 and 2013 in accordance with the alphabetical list," the ministry noted.

Non-Aligned Movement

Another development in 2011 was Azerbaijan's accession to the Non-Aligned Movement at the organization's Ministerial Conference in Bali, Indonesia. Azerbaijan was supported by the movement's 118 members "who have confidence that Baku will contribute to effective cooperation and will increase its constructive role in the system of international relations", the Foreign Ministry noted

Azerbaijan was supported by all the members of the Non-Aligned Movement in the elections of non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Karabakh

Touching upon the settlement of the conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, the Foreign Ministry said that Azerbaijan hoped for greater resolve and consistency from the international community on a just resolution of the conflict, which would create lasting peace, security and cooperation. Azerbaijan would like the international community to compel Armenia to start working on a final peace agreement based on the basic principles for a resolution of the conflict set out by the countries co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group.

The Foreign Ministry notes that during talks conducted last year, Azerbaijan acted from its position based on the restoration of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country, the withdrawal of the occupying troops from the occupied territories, the return of forcibly displaced persons to their homes, the peaceful coexistence of the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of Nagorno-Karabakh and the determination of the status of the Nagorno-Karabakh region with the participation of both communities.

"The Azerbaijani side continued consistent and targeted activity to give an international legal and political status to the plunder of natural resources and cultural heritage in the occupied territories, illegal settlement and the violation of the property rights of forcibly displaced persons," the Foreign Ministry said.

It noted that the report of the international field assessment mission to the occupied territories, organized by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen on 6-13 October 2010 at the initiative of Azerbaijan, was published in March 2011.

"The report reflected facts that are of concern to Azerbaijan, including illegal settlement in the occupied territories and the plunder of homes. The field assessment mission again confirmed the inadmissibility of the status quo," the ministry said.

NATO

The press release noted that the Azerbaijan-NATO partnership continued in 2011.

Following discussions, the third round of the NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with Azerbaijan was adopted on 20 December 2011.

Political dialogue during the year focused on defence reforms, practical cooperation, regional security, the development of Azerbaijan-NATO relations, including IPAP, operations and energy security.

A 28+1 meeting (NATO member countries plus Azerbaijan) on energy security was held in NATO headquarters last year.

Azerbaijan continued its active involvement in the international political process on Afghanistan. Azerbaijan attended the informal meeting of foreign ministers of countries contributing to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and international conference on NATO in Bonn, as well as a foreign ministers' meeting at NATO headquarters of non-NATO member countries that contribute to ISAF.

Embassies

Azerbaijan opened an embassy in South Africa and a representation in Bosnia Herzegovina in 2011, while Serbia and the United Arab Emirates opened embassies in Baku, the Foreign Ministry said.

Diplomatic relations were established with the Solomon Islands and Trinidad and Tobago.

Foreign trips

President Ilham Aliyev made official visits to nine countries last year - Latvia, Russia, Italy, Serbia, Slovenia, Belgium, Kazakhstan, Poland and Switzerland.

The heads of 20 different states and governments visited Azerbaijan during the reporting period - Bulgaria, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Austria, Palestine, Montenegro, Poland, Slovenia, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Romania, Lithuania, Greece, Switzerland, France, Belarus, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines

The ministry noted that nearly 120 bilateral documents had been agreed and signed as a result of these visits and of the meetings of intergovernmental commissions.