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HUNGARIAN FM: AZERBAIJAN IS OUR STRATEGIC PARTNER IN SOUTH CAUCASUS REGION
Today
Dec 28 2009
Azerbaijan
How do you assess the current bilateral relations between Hungary
and Azerbaijan?
Hungary considers the Republic of Azerbaijan as a strategic partner
in the South Caucasus region. We recognized the independence
of Azerbaijan on 26 December, 1991. Diplomatic relations were
established on 27 April, 1992. The first embassy of Hungary in Baku
was opened on January 12, 2009. The political relations between the
two countries are meaningful and excellent, with no major problems or
misunderstandings. Economic cooperation is also steadily on the rise.
In the field of contracts we have already done the bulk of the job
and created a whole net of so called basic agreements destined to
boost this cooperation.
Past years have witnessed a number of important high level visits
between the two countries. Just to mention the most important ones, we
had the privilege to welcome President Ilham Aliyev twice in Hungary,
first in February 2008 and then in January 2009. The Prime Minister of
Hungary also visited Azerbaijan twice, in July and November 2008. In
September 2008 the Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary held
talks in Baku.
We are really impressed by the remarkable economic performance of
Azerbaijan, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of which is increasing
by more than 10% per year despite the severe conditions of the global
financial crisis. The economic turnover between the two countries
is also on the rise. The overall Hungarian-Azerbaijani turnover was
USD 85.9 million in 2008, while in the period between January and
September 2009 it was USD 62,7 million. These figures highlight that
we have serious reserves in our bilateral economic relations to be
exploited by common efforts.
Besides the political and economic fields, we have an increasingly
developing cooperation in the field of culture, education, defense and
energy supply. We are convinced that Azerbaijan can play a significant
role in the diversification of Europe's energy supply. Therefore we
would welcome the greatest possible involvement and participation of
Azerbaijan in the Nabucco Project as well.
What is Budapest's position on the question of Armenian Azerbaijani
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?
We are quite aware of the complexity of this problem. Given the
political, legal, historical, moral and human aspects of the conflict,
we consider that the genuine solution can only be worked out along and
on the basis of the so called Madrid Principles. The solution has to
be reached through negotiations and only by peaceful means, taking
into consideration the core interest of each party concerned. It
is very important to mention that the territorial integrity of the
countries involved and the rights of the national minorities has to
be equally respected.
There is no doubt that the direct highest-level contacts play a crucial
role in the solution of this conflict. Therefore, we truly welcome
the practice of personal meetings and talks between the Presidents
of Azerbaijan and Armenia. We do hope that the two heads of state
will find the right modalities of the solution.
At this moment, how does Hungary see the perspectives of success of
the Nabucco project? What are your expectations from Azerbaijan in
this matter?
Hungary has contributed considerably to the success of Nabucco by
promoting it on every possible international forum, including the
January Nabucco Summit held in Budapest. The Hungarian Parliament
was the first to ratify the Nabucco Intergovernmental Agreement,
and our ambassador-at-large has already deposited the instrument
of ratification in Ankara. This may give a further impetus to other
state parties to accelerate their internal procedure of ratification.
Indeed, the year of 2009 was a milestone in the life of Nabucco.
However the fate of the project will be decided only in the coming
year. In order to reach the point of no return Nabucco needs a final
investment decision at end of 2010.
To launch the project per se, the pipeline should be filled up
with gas. Azerbaijan has already committed herself several times to
offering 8 bcm of natural gas from the Shah Deniz field. Nevertheless,
the consortium needs not only the molecules to start the project.
Member states highly appreciate and keep counting on the political
cooperation of Azerbaijan, considering the Nabucco not merely as a
commercial project but as a symbol of long-term strategic teamwork
between EU and Caspian countries.
The EU Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner has made a statement that
European Union continues its work on giving the associative membership
to the "Eastern Partnership" program country members. Now, considering
that Hungary is a member of the EU, and Azerbaijan is in the "Eastern
Partnership" program, what, in your opinion, are the privileges of
this associative membership?
The Eastern Partnership has never been a "doorstep" to EU membership.
Its main goal has been and will remain to assist our partner countries
in their approximation to EU structures, offering specific bilateral
and multilateral programs and projects in order to assist the
implementation of their structural reforms in the fields of economy,
finances, good governance, institution building etc. Therefore, the
Eastern Partnership is not about membership. However, in accordance
with Article 49 of the Treaty of Rome, the possibility of membership
is open to any European country which fulfils the membership criteria.
The Eastern Partnership may open new forms of cooperation between the
EU and the partner countries, including the upgrading of contractual
relations towards association agreements. The same has been offered
to Azerbaijan.
Considering Hungary's experience in the EU integration process, what,
in this case, Budapest could share with Baku?
Hungary has been supporting Azerbaijan's rapprochement to the EU. We
are ready to offer all kind of assistance at our disposal, including
our experience in preparing for negotiations on the post-Partnership
and Cooperation Agreement. During our EU Presidency in the first half
of 2011, we would like to put on the EU's agenda issues of interest
for our Eastern partners, including Azerbaijan. We wish to create
favorable circumstances for preparing decisions giving additional
impetus to our mutually advantageous cooperation.
Do you believe that the South Caucasus countries (which include
Azerbaijan) could in time become "full" members of the European Union?
Some experts expressed an interesting point of view. According to
them, "Eastern Partnership" program is considered some sort of a
"buffer zone" between the countries of the EU and other countries of
the region. Do you agree with that?
It is crucial that the Eastern Partnership will provide additional
impetus to the economic and social development of our Eastern
partners. Consequently, it can help to ease the impact of the global
economic crisis which has badly affected the region. However, the
Eastern Partnership is a long-term program, not a magic cure-all for
every problem. It offers a broad range "menu" from which the relevant
partner countries could choose, according to their aspirations, needs,
and level of ambition.
This is not a "carte blanche" of course - conditionality and
differentiation are key principles of the Eastern Partnership. Better
performance of partner countries is a prerequisite to make effective
use of the framework of the Eastern Partnership.
The Eastern Partnership is not a tool for EU integration. However, its
programs facilitating the adoption of the acquis and the convergence
to the EU's system of values and rules should prove helpful in practice
for those Eastern partners who wish to have a European perspective.
Consequently, the Eastern Partnership has never been a "buffer zone"
between the EU and other countries; it is rather an important step
forward, a concrete policy to be developed according to our mutual
interest.
Should there be expected any official visits from Hungary to Azerbaijan
in the near future?
It is our intention to continue developing our relations through
high-level contacts. We consider reciprocating some time in the
not too distant future the highest level visit by the President of
Azerbaijan to Hungary. However, as you may also know, the schedule
of the Hungarian President and the political agenda in Hungary in
2010 are rather tight. Parliamentary elections will be followed by
the municipal elections and later on by the election of the Head of
State at the National Assembly. So while we try to keep this momentum
alive and back up the practice of high level contacts, we have to
manage at the same time the difficult task of the right timing of
the forthcoming visits.
Nevertheless, we do attach great importance to this matter and
believe that the highest level visits as well as those of official and
professional nature are very important. They may considerably boost
our relations and open up new opportunities for further excellent
cooperation between Hungary and Azerbaijan.
Today
Dec 28 2009
Azerbaijan
How do you assess the current bilateral relations between Hungary
and Azerbaijan?
Hungary considers the Republic of Azerbaijan as a strategic partner
in the South Caucasus region. We recognized the independence
of Azerbaijan on 26 December, 1991. Diplomatic relations were
established on 27 April, 1992. The first embassy of Hungary in Baku
was opened on January 12, 2009. The political relations between the
two countries are meaningful and excellent, with no major problems or
misunderstandings. Economic cooperation is also steadily on the rise.
In the field of contracts we have already done the bulk of the job
and created a whole net of so called basic agreements destined to
boost this cooperation.
Past years have witnessed a number of important high level visits
between the two countries. Just to mention the most important ones, we
had the privilege to welcome President Ilham Aliyev twice in Hungary,
first in February 2008 and then in January 2009. The Prime Minister of
Hungary also visited Azerbaijan twice, in July and November 2008. In
September 2008 the Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary held
talks in Baku.
We are really impressed by the remarkable economic performance of
Azerbaijan, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of which is increasing
by more than 10% per year despite the severe conditions of the global
financial crisis. The economic turnover between the two countries
is also on the rise. The overall Hungarian-Azerbaijani turnover was
USD 85.9 million in 2008, while in the period between January and
September 2009 it was USD 62,7 million. These figures highlight that
we have serious reserves in our bilateral economic relations to be
exploited by common efforts.
Besides the political and economic fields, we have an increasingly
developing cooperation in the field of culture, education, defense and
energy supply. We are convinced that Azerbaijan can play a significant
role in the diversification of Europe's energy supply. Therefore we
would welcome the greatest possible involvement and participation of
Azerbaijan in the Nabucco Project as well.
What is Budapest's position on the question of Armenian Azerbaijani
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?
We are quite aware of the complexity of this problem. Given the
political, legal, historical, moral and human aspects of the conflict,
we consider that the genuine solution can only be worked out along and
on the basis of the so called Madrid Principles. The solution has to
be reached through negotiations and only by peaceful means, taking
into consideration the core interest of each party concerned. It
is very important to mention that the territorial integrity of the
countries involved and the rights of the national minorities has to
be equally respected.
There is no doubt that the direct highest-level contacts play a crucial
role in the solution of this conflict. Therefore, we truly welcome
the practice of personal meetings and talks between the Presidents
of Azerbaijan and Armenia. We do hope that the two heads of state
will find the right modalities of the solution.
At this moment, how does Hungary see the perspectives of success of
the Nabucco project? What are your expectations from Azerbaijan in
this matter?
Hungary has contributed considerably to the success of Nabucco by
promoting it on every possible international forum, including the
January Nabucco Summit held in Budapest. The Hungarian Parliament
was the first to ratify the Nabucco Intergovernmental Agreement,
and our ambassador-at-large has already deposited the instrument
of ratification in Ankara. This may give a further impetus to other
state parties to accelerate their internal procedure of ratification.
Indeed, the year of 2009 was a milestone in the life of Nabucco.
However the fate of the project will be decided only in the coming
year. In order to reach the point of no return Nabucco needs a final
investment decision at end of 2010.
To launch the project per se, the pipeline should be filled up
with gas. Azerbaijan has already committed herself several times to
offering 8 bcm of natural gas from the Shah Deniz field. Nevertheless,
the consortium needs not only the molecules to start the project.
Member states highly appreciate and keep counting on the political
cooperation of Azerbaijan, considering the Nabucco not merely as a
commercial project but as a symbol of long-term strategic teamwork
between EU and Caspian countries.
The EU Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner has made a statement that
European Union continues its work on giving the associative membership
to the "Eastern Partnership" program country members. Now, considering
that Hungary is a member of the EU, and Azerbaijan is in the "Eastern
Partnership" program, what, in your opinion, are the privileges of
this associative membership?
The Eastern Partnership has never been a "doorstep" to EU membership.
Its main goal has been and will remain to assist our partner countries
in their approximation to EU structures, offering specific bilateral
and multilateral programs and projects in order to assist the
implementation of their structural reforms in the fields of economy,
finances, good governance, institution building etc. Therefore, the
Eastern Partnership is not about membership. However, in accordance
with Article 49 of the Treaty of Rome, the possibility of membership
is open to any European country which fulfils the membership criteria.
The Eastern Partnership may open new forms of cooperation between the
EU and the partner countries, including the upgrading of contractual
relations towards association agreements. The same has been offered
to Azerbaijan.
Considering Hungary's experience in the EU integration process, what,
in this case, Budapest could share with Baku?
Hungary has been supporting Azerbaijan's rapprochement to the EU. We
are ready to offer all kind of assistance at our disposal, including
our experience in preparing for negotiations on the post-Partnership
and Cooperation Agreement. During our EU Presidency in the first half
of 2011, we would like to put on the EU's agenda issues of interest
for our Eastern partners, including Azerbaijan. We wish to create
favorable circumstances for preparing decisions giving additional
impetus to our mutually advantageous cooperation.
Do you believe that the South Caucasus countries (which include
Azerbaijan) could in time become "full" members of the European Union?
Some experts expressed an interesting point of view. According to
them, "Eastern Partnership" program is considered some sort of a
"buffer zone" between the countries of the EU and other countries of
the region. Do you agree with that?
It is crucial that the Eastern Partnership will provide additional
impetus to the economic and social development of our Eastern
partners. Consequently, it can help to ease the impact of the global
economic crisis which has badly affected the region. However, the
Eastern Partnership is a long-term program, not a magic cure-all for
every problem. It offers a broad range "menu" from which the relevant
partner countries could choose, according to their aspirations, needs,
and level of ambition.
This is not a "carte blanche" of course - conditionality and
differentiation are key principles of the Eastern Partnership. Better
performance of partner countries is a prerequisite to make effective
use of the framework of the Eastern Partnership.
The Eastern Partnership is not a tool for EU integration. However, its
programs facilitating the adoption of the acquis and the convergence
to the EU's system of values and rules should prove helpful in practice
for those Eastern partners who wish to have a European perspective.
Consequently, the Eastern Partnership has never been a "buffer zone"
between the EU and other countries; it is rather an important step
forward, a concrete policy to be developed according to our mutual
interest.
Should there be expected any official visits from Hungary to Azerbaijan
in the near future?
It is our intention to continue developing our relations through
high-level contacts. We consider reciprocating some time in the
not too distant future the highest level visit by the President of
Azerbaijan to Hungary. However, as you may also know, the schedule
of the Hungarian President and the political agenda in Hungary in
2010 are rather tight. Parliamentary elections will be followed by
the municipal elections and later on by the election of the Head of
State at the National Assembly. So while we try to keep this momentum
alive and back up the practice of high level contacts, we have to
manage at the same time the difficult task of the right timing of
the forthcoming visits.
Nevertheless, we do attach great importance to this matter and
believe that the highest level visits as well as those of official and
professional nature are very important. They may considerably boost
our relations and open up new opportunities for further excellent
cooperation between Hungary and Azerbaijan.