Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and visiting NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia Javier Colomina have discussed Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization, regional security and prospects for bilateral cooperation.

At a meeting that took place in Baku on April 28, the two officials exchanged views on the process of normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia during the post-conflict period, as well as energy security, and regional security issues and prospects for Azerbaijan-NATO cooperation.

The sides recalled the Azerbaijani president's visit to NATO headquarters in late 2021, and his meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, as well as his speech at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council as part of the visit. Azerbaijan’s participation in NATO's "Resolute Support" mission in Afghanistan was also underlined at the meeting.

Colomina extended NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg’s greetings to the head of state.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked for Stoltenberg’s greetings and asked Colomina to extend his greetings to the NATO secretary-general.

Furthermore, Colomina was received by  Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.

The parties discussed Azerbaijan's and NATO's mutually beneficial cooperation.

Bayramov stated that Azerbaijan's partnership with NATO is based on mutual interests and equality, emphasizing the country's participation in the Alliance's peacekeeping operations in particular.

The minister also provided an update on the current regional situation, including steps to normalize relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, preparations for a peace agreement, delimitation of the border, opening all communications, and confidence-building.

NATO, according to Colomina, supports the process of normalizing relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The parties discussed energy security, Azerbaijan's Action Plan for Individual Partnership, and regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Colomina arrived in Azerbaijan on April 28. In his capacity as NATO secretary-general's special representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, he is making his second trip to the South Caucasus. 

This visit is part of regular consultations between NATO officials and representatives from Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia, and is an important format for taking stock of NATO relations with partners and exchanging views on future political dialogue and cooperation, particularly in light of ongoing preparations for the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid.

The NATO official earlier visited Armenia and Georgia, where he had met with top Armenian officials, Georgian officials, MPs, representatives of international organizations, and civil society. 

Relations with NATO started in 1992 when Azerbaijan joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. This forum for dialogue was succeeded in 1997 by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, which brings together all Allies and partner countries in the Euro-Atlantic area.

Bilateral cooperation began when Azerbaijan joined the Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme in 1994. Thanks to regular participation in PfP activities, Azerbaijan has been able to contribute actively to Euro-Atlantic security by supporting NATO-led peace-support operations.

Azerbaijan’s participation in the PfP Planning and Review Process (PARP) since 1997 has allowed NATO and individual Allies to assist Azerbaijan in developing selected units to improve interoperability with those of the Allies.

NATO and Azerbaijan started work on a jointly agreed Defence Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP) in 2008 to integrate NATO standards into the teaching methodologies and curricula of the country’s Professional Military Education (PME) institutions.

In 2018, Azerbaijan asked NATO to also involve the Military High School, a pre-commissioning school, in DEEP.