ASSOCIATION NEGOTIATIONS WITH EUROPEAN UNION LAUNCHED

Azerbaijan launched first round of negotiations on an Association Agreement with the European Union (EU)

"The preparation and signing of an Association Agreement will be another important step in relations between the EU and Azerbaijan. It will strengthen integration of our country into Europe," Azerbaijan's deputy foreign minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev told a news conference in Baku on July 16.

The main objective of the Association Agreement is to achieve closer political association and gradual economic integration between Azerbaijan and the EU.

The Association Agreement with Azerbaijan will replace the EU-Azerbaijan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement which has been in force since 1999.

The association agreements are treaties between the EU and non-EU countries, and are based on joint commitments to a set of shared values while covering a wide range of areas, including political dialogue, justice, freedom and security, as well as trade and cooperation in sectoral policies.

Azerbaijan has been part of EU's Neighborhood Policy and Eastern Partnership Initiative, since 2004 and 2009 respectively, designed to foster political, security and economic reforms in EU's neighborhood, and deepen political and economic ties.

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AZERBAIJAN-U.S. DEFENSE CONSULTATIONS HELD IN BAKU

Bilateral Defense Consultations (BDC) between Azerbaijan and the United States were held on July 12-13 in Baku. The BDC are held once a year, alternating between Baku and Washington, DC

During the meetings, representatives of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defense and the Pentagon have reviewed the full range of bilateral defense cooperation.

The U.S. delegation for the consultations was lead by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Dr. Celeste Wallander. She was accompanied by officials of U.S. European Command.

The Azerbaijani delegation was joined by Mr. Yashar Aliyev, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the U.S., and Colonel Eldar Ismayilov, Defense Attaché of Azerbaijan to the U.S.

During his recent visit to Azerbaijan, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said that the United States appreciates Azerbaijan’s support to the U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. Secretary Gates referred to the BDC as a mechanism for developing comprehensive plans for defense cooperation.

According to Pentagon, about 25 percent of the coalition’s supplies bound for Afghanistan pass through Azerbaijan. Since 2001, tens of thousands of flights for the coalition’s efforts in Afghanistan have passed through Azerbaijan’s airspace, and in 2009 alone, about 100,000 troops have flown through Azerbaijan en route to Afghanistan.

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PRESIDENT SAAKASHVILI: AZERBAIJAN HAS STOOD BY GEORGIA WITHOUT HESITATION ON THE MOST STRATEGIC, IMPORTANT AND CRUCIAL ISSUES

"Georgians will never forget the tough January of 2005 when we were left without any gas or electricity, but Azerbaijan shared half of its energy with us in order to prevent Georgia from freezing and to let our country continue its existence. We will also never forget that at every critical moment, Azerbaijan has stood by Georgia without hesitation on the most strategic, important, and crucial issues," the Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said at a press conference while hosting Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in Batumi, Georgia, on July 18

President Saakashvili added that “Azerbaijan now meets 70% of Georgia's gas requirements.” “Everything being done by Azerbaijan in Georgia – railway, trade, etc, is a sign of not only political but of economic cooperation, aimed at achieving bilateral aims through integration,” he said.

Emphasizing the significance of joint projects carried out by the two countries and the importance of Azerbaijani investments in Georgia, President Aliyev said: “I am grateful for the invitation to visit Georgia. I can see the development that is going on here. This is very important because your success means our success. I am glad that Azerbaijani nationals are among the investors working in Georgia. The main area is energy but I am sure that Azerbaijani companies will also be interested in other spheres. Georgia and Azerbaijan are working together on projects of global significance."

The two presidents agreed to create a permanent working group on the establishment of a transport corridor connecting China and the Central Asia with Europe via the territories of Georgia and Azerbaijan.

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AZERBAIJAN ORDERS NEW BOEING 767-300 MODELS

Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) and Boeing have signed an agreement to substitute two Next-Generation 737 airplanes for one 767-300ER (extended range) and two 767 Freighters, for AZAL

"With our central geographic location, Azerbaijan is becoming a busy hub in the region between east and west and north and south," said Jahangir Asgarov, president of AZAL. "We are capitalizing on this development by expanding our long-haul passenger fleet and growing our cargo business with the proven efficiencies of the 767 Freighters."

Currently, Azerbaijan Airlines has a total of eight Boeing airplanes on order: two 767-300ERs, two 767 Freighters, two Next-Generation 737s and two 787-8s.

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CNN REPORTS ON AZERBAIJAN’S ECONOMY

Recently, CNN International aired a report on Azerbaijan’s economic growth. The report can be watched here

“Once one of the poor republics of the Former Soviet Union, the country has undergone a dramatic transformation to become a leader in the region,” says the reporter at the outset.

The report starts with an introduction to the massive Sadarak shopping centre outside Baku, where a collection of ramshackle market stalls have been transformed into a modern shopping centre with convenient transport links for shoppers from all over Azerbaijan, as well as Georgia, Iran and Russia.

Sadarak is compared in the report with the recently opened Park Bulvar shopping centre on Baku's seafront boulevard. Although the centre backs onto Neftchilar Avenue, home to exclusive designer boutiques such as Versace, Gucci, Dior, Park Bulvar's prices are still affordable for many people, one shopper says.

Despite the global economic slowdown, Azerbaijan managed to finish 2009 with double digit economic growth, the report says. "With poverty dropped to a record low of 20% and wages doubled, retail and paid services are flourishing in Azerbaijan."

"Fostering competition and a market based economy is exactly what Azerbaijan is trying to achieve while making the most of the oil boom," the report concludes.

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