New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is on a three-day visit to Azerbaijan to attend a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and hold talks with top leadership of that country.
Swaraj is on an official visit to Azerbaijan at the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, H.E. Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov. During the visit, EAM will hold bilateral consultations with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, H.E. Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov.
External Affairs Minister is scheduled to call on the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, H.E. Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva.
India and Azerbaijan enjoy warm and friendly relations based on historical and cultural ties. They have growing bilateral cooperation in many areas including energy, transportation, and capacity building. India’s ONGC-Videsh is an investor in ACG oil fields and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
The two sides will discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.
Swaraj will attend the Mid-Term Ministerial Meeting of the Non-aligned Movement (NAM) being held in Baku.
“As a founding member of NAM, India remains committed to the purposes and principles of the Movement. The External Affairs Minister’s participation in the NAM Ministerial Meeting will underline India’s continued active and constructive engagement within the movement with a view to further strengthen solidarity and cooperation among its member states,” the release stated.
A range of issues, including ways to boost bilateral cooperation between India and Azerbaijan, are expected to be discussed during her talks with leadership of that country.
Bilateral ties between India and Azerbaijan have grown in many areas, including energy, transportation, and capacity building.
India and Azerbaijan have signed to explore future prospects in renewable energy sector, energy efficiency and various upcoming projects in oil and gas and pipelines. Gas production in Azerbaijan is expected to reach 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2018 compared with 29.45 bcm in 2013. A major portion of Azerbaijan’s natural gas is produced from the giant Shah Deniz field in the Caspian Sea.
