Kabul, Baku see scope for greater cooperation

Afghanistan and Azerbaijan agree there is a good potential for expanding bilateral cooperation in different areas.

The agreement came during a meeting between Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Afghan National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib in Baku late on Monday.

Chief of Staff to President Ashraf Ghani, Mohammad Shakir Kargar, was part of the Afghan delegation that met Aliyev, Trend news agency reported.

The role of personal chemistry between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Afghanistan in strengthening bilateral relations was underlined.

The visiting NSA conveyed Ghani’s greetings to the Azerbaijan head of state. Aliyev asked Mohib to extend his greetings to his Afghan counterpart.

The two sides stressed the importance of an end to the Afghanistan conflict in ensuring regional security and stability and creating opportunities for multilateral cooperation.

Prospects for cooperation in economic, security, investment, transport and other areas also came up for discussion at the meeting.

They also conferred on issues related to the development of the Lapis Lazuli international transport corridor and Azerbaijan’s participation in peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan.

Earlier in the day, Mohib and Kargar met Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, the Foreign Ministry in Baku said.

The foreign minister underlined what he called a huge potential for the development of cooperation between the two countries.

Afghanistan had always supported Azerbaijan, the minister acknowledged, recalling Kabul’s backing during the recent Armenia-Azerbaijan hostilities.

Mohib congratulated the foreign minister on Baku’s victory, saying his country had consistently supported Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.