ASSA-Irada,
6, March 2008

Security in the Caspian and Central Asia regions top the agenda of the 68th Rose Roth seminar of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly that started in Baku on Thursday.

Azerbaijani Parliament Speaker Ogtay Asadov said the exchange of views during the event would help to strengthen parliamentary support in solving the problems faced by the two regions. He said the fact that security issues were high on the agenda of the NATO PA seminar indicated the alliance's interest in the region. The military bloc is also looking to see gradual strengthening of cooperation among regional states, the speaker said.

Asadov went on to say that integration into organizations working in the political, security, economic and other fields in the European and Euro-Atlantic region was Azerbaijan's strategic objective.

"Given the country's place and influence within the North-Atlantic alliance's international relations system, we have outlined developing cooperation with NATO as one of the priority directions of our foreign policy," he said.

Asadov said Azerbaijan viewed this cooperation as a valuable opportunity to contribute to overall security, economic and democratic development in the Euro-Atlantic region. He emphasized that the NATO leadership was also attaching great importance to collaboration with the country.

The speaker emphasized that Azerbaijan had a strategic location in the South Caucasus region, citing the country's vast economic potential and great importance for Europe due to its being crossed by vital transit routes.

Asadov recalled that Azerbaijan joined NATO's Partnership for Peace program in 1994, after which its relations with the alliance assumed a wider scale. "By doing so, Azerbaijan gained the opportunity to be part of the world's collective security system through various NATO institutions and to bring its own security into compliance with the international security system."

Azerbaijani troops are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan within NATO's peacekeeping mission.

Asadov highlighted that Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to have joined the alliance's Individual Partnership Plan. The plan plays a great role in boosting both short-term and long-term cooperation with the military bloc.

"Azerbaijan is capitalizing of the Plan in conducting reform and developing political dialog with a view to bringing its relevant bodies into compliance with NATO standards," Asadov said.

He said Azerbaijan has applied these standards in its military, education and training programs. Despite the lingering Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict with Armenia, the process of bringing the country's military into line with NATO requirements has begun. Work is also under way to step up public oversight over the armed forces.

NATO PA President Jose Lello said in his remarks that the three-day event was the second Rose Roth seminar being held in the Azerbaijani capital and the sixth one in the South Caucasus region. He confirmed that holding frequent functions testified to the alliance's interest in the region.

Lello emphasized that all the three S. Caucasus states - Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia - were cooperating with NATO. He said the alliance was currently enlarging its scope. "A number of countries have officially applied for NATO membership, while a slew of others are collaborating with the alliance more and more closely. A third group of states is looking to get the taste of cooperating with NATO," Lello said.

He said the bloc had started placing a special emphasis on security in the regions located close to its borders.

"NATO is particularly interested in ensuring security in Afghanistan, the Balkans and S. Caucasus. We are also looking to cooperate with Central Asian states," the assembly president said.

Lello welcomed the participation at the seminar of representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for the first time. He said the Central Asian republics were advancing along the challenging road of independence. The NATO official pointed to some problems regarding regional states' forging ties with neighboring countries. He said such seminars were of great importance for countries seeking cooperation with the alliance, as these discussions help to asnwer a number of questions of concern for these states.

French lawmaker Lo?c Bouvard spoke of the alleged possibility of Kosovo's setting a precedent for the resolution of conflicts in the S. Caucasus. He said the developments in the Serbian province would cause serious problems for stability in the region.

A Serbian representative addressing the seminar said the countries that did not recognize Kosovo's independence were pursuing a proper policy.