"Azerbaijan ready to work with South Korean firms in infrastructure construction"

Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said that the Caspian nation is planning massive investments to reinforce roads, railways and other infrastructure, and is ready to work with South Korean companies on the projects, Yonhap reported.

In an interview with Yonhap News Agency, Mammadyarov also expressed hope that South Korea and Azerbaijan can expand their regular economic cooperation talks so that the two sides can discuss a wider range of cooperation projects and other issues.

Mammadyarov was in Seoul on Tuesday and Wednesday for talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan. He also met with Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik and National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae.

In the foreign ministers' talks, the two sides agreed to work closely together to develop mutually beneficial cooperation projects combining rich resources of the Caspian nation and advanced Korean technologies, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

"Azerbaijan is planning large-scale investments not only in the energy sector, but also in infrastructure construction, such as roads, railways and communication networks, and the agriculture sector," Mammadyarov said in the interview held Wednesday evening.

"We are ready to cooperate not only with conglomerates but also with small- and medium-sized firms in South Korea."

The minister said that economic relations between the two countries have made strides since the two countries exchanged presidential visits in 2006 and 2007, with a growing number of South Korean companies taking part in construction and other projects in Azerbaijan.

"Currently, the two countries have an economic cooperation committee and I propose that we expand it to a joint commission where we can discuss a variety of cooperation issues and other pending matters between the two countries," Mammadyarov said.

South Korea and Azerbaijan established diplomatic relations in 1992. The two countries plan to hold various events to mark the 20th anniversary of ties in 2012.

The Azerbaijan foreign minister said that boosting people-to-people exchanges would help government-level ties.

"More than anything else, what is important is to promote the awareness of South Korea in Azerbaijan and the awareness of Azerbaijan in South Korea," he said. "It is important that the people of the two countries have opportunities to know and learn about each other."

The diplomat said that he had met various people while in Seoul and some of them suggested that creating a direct flight between the two countries would help boost exchanges.

On security tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Mammadyarov likened the situation to a dispute that his own country has with neighboring Armenia. Armenia has occupied about 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands, making about 1 million of Azerbaijan's 9 million population refugees, he said.

"On the North Korea issue, we of course are watching the situation with concern," he said.

"We believe that in any kinds of dispute, the best option is to resolve it peacefully. ... However, considering the international law and the U.N. Charter, it can be resolved through other means unless a peaceful resolution is possible."


/Trend/