Romanian envoy: NATO-Azerbaijan ties have strategic value
Romanian envoy to Baku, Daniel Cristian Ciobanu delivered a speech at the summer session of NATO International School of Azerbaijan within the panel “NATO partnerships and indivisibility of security in the Euro-Atlantic area as a ‘common response’ to regional security challenges” on June 29.
The other panelists were Dr. Bartek Nowak from Transatlantic Academy and Dr. Tracey German from King’s College in London.
Ciobanu underlined that Romania is fulfilling for the fourth time in a row the mandate of NATO Contact Point Embassy in Azerbaijan.
“This is the only current case of such a long involvement of a country as a Contact Point Embassy. In this capacity Romanian Embassy managed to build excellent and productive ties with Azerbaijani authorities and non-governmental organizations, contributing to raising public awareness about the Alliance and strengthening NATO-Azerbaijan political dialogue and cooperation,” he said.
The ambassador further said that at the Warsaw Summit (8-9 July 2016), NATO will deliver important decisions to boost security in and around Europe. He stressed that to safeguard the security at home, North Atlantic Alliance must also project stability beyond its borders.
“NATO is facing a very complex and fluid security environment with many challenges. North Atlantic Alliance is responding with strength, resolve and readiness. Modern challenges require a modern Alliance,” he added.
Ciobanu also highlighted that relations between NATO and Azerbaijan are developing strongly and they have a strategic value, noting that NATO-Azerbaijan partnership is based on active political dialogue and substantial practical cooperation.
“Azerbaijan has a pivotal role to play in increasing European energy security and has, in the same time, huge opportunities in the field of freight transport,” he said. “It’s important that NATO and its partners maintain strategic awareness regarding the new risks that could affect the security of energy infrastructure and vital energy supplies.”
Ciobanu emphasized that as a NATO and EU member, Romania is determined to further promote and actively support Azerbaijan’s efforts to enhance its relations with the European and Euro-Atlantic institutions.
NATO and Azerbaijan are actively cooperating on democratic, institutional, and military reforms, as well as conducting practical cooperation in various areas.
Azerbaijan aspires to achieve Euro-Atlantic standards and get closer to Euro-Atlantic institutions. In this regard, supporting the security sector reform and establishing democratic institutions are the key elements of the NATO-Azerbaijan cooperation.
The Azerbaijan-NATO cooperation is carried out within the "Partnership for Peace" program. Earlier, NATO adopted a document of the fourth stage of the Individual Partnership Action Plan for 2015-2016.