By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov and NATO'S Cooperative Security Division of the International Military Staff Director Francesco Diella have discussed the post-war regional situation, the ministry reported on October 25.

Hasanov briefed the delegation on Azerbaijan’s activities on the liberated territories following its victory in the 44-day war with Armenia in late 2020 and the current situation on the state border.

Diella expressed satisfaction with the current state of NATO's cooperation with Azerbaijan.

He underlined that positive results have been achieved in the field of cooperation and stressed the importance of further development of relations.

The country's 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.

Cooperative activities, reform plans and political dialogue processes are detailed in Azerbaijan’s Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), which is jointly agreed upon.