Presidential administration representative: Azerbaijan eyes Eastern Partnership as a new and important format, aimed at strengthening relations with the EU

The major goal of the Eastern Partnership project is to support the processes of political and socio-economic reforms in partner countries, which include 6 countries on the eastern border of the EU - Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, said chief of department of the presidential administration of Azerbaijan Fuad Akhundov.

"In addition, the EU sets the task before the Eastern Partnership to create necessary conditions for the establishment of associative political relations and further economic integration between the EU and the "eastern partners" that will be interested and ready for this advanced level of relations and cooperation with the European Union.

As for the position of our country, it has been repeatedly voiced by the head of state, including during his recent official visit to Belgium and meetings with EU leaders. I would like to remind that in Brussels the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev reiterated that we want to build a modern state, in which the principles of the political system, the solution of social problems and economic reform would be constructed on the basis of the EU criteria", noted the representative of the presidential administration.

"In this context, he stressed the importance of the European Neighborhood Policy and the program of Eastern Partnership that are designed to give an additional impetus to Azerbaijan's way for the full cooperation of EU and fill our EU policy with a new content.

In other words, the president is considering the EP project as a new and important format that can and must strengthen the relations between Azerbaijan and the EU, which requires the implementation of new joint projects to address problems in the political, socio-economic and humanitarian spheres urgent for our country and community", noted Fuad Akhundov.

The important thing to which I would like to draw attention is that the main objectives of the new EU project are fully consistent with the principal vector of domestic and foreign policy of President Ilham Aliyev, that is enhancing reforms inside the country and bringing relations with EU and its member-states on the level of strategic partnership, said Akhundov and concluded that in his opinion this is a basis of our interest in the project and this causes EU's interest in cooperation with Azerbaijan.

/Day.Az/