CONQUERING NEW CONTINENTS

Rich energy resources of Azerbaijan allowed it not only to ensure its own development at a uniquely high pace, but also to promote the economic growth of other countries. Moreover, while previously the main targets of Azerbaijan's foreign investment were countries of the region, today the republic's investment ambitions extend much farther. In the summer of 2012, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan made a tour of South America during which the important agreements were reached concerning the establishment of Azerbaijan's economic presence on this hitherto distant continent. As is well known, successful economic relations between the states is the key to equally successful development of political relations, especially when it comes to geographically distant partners, though the aspect of commercial benefit from investment is just as important. This can explain a new tour of the head of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs through another unexplored continent - Africa. Late in February this year, the Foreign Minister paid the first ever official visit to the southern part of the Black Continent, and the leitmotif of his visit was economic cooperation.

It is not surprising that the visit of the Azerbaijani delegation headed by Elmar Mammadyarov started with the Republic of South Africa - the most developed on the African continent and, at the same time, the only state in the region that does not belong to the "Third World."

The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister met with Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, the Minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Foreign Minister) of the RSA. The sides discussed the possibility of cooperation between the two countries in the political, cultural and energy sectors, as well as international and regional issues. E. Mammadyarov expressed satisfaction with the successful cooperation between the Republic of South Africa and the Republic of Azerbaijan in the UN Security Council during Azerbaijan's non-permanent membership in the United Nations. E. Mammadyarov said that Azerbaijan was ready to share its experience with the RSA in various fields and invited Nkoana-Mashabane to visit Azerbaijan. Having accepted the invitation, the RSA's Foreign Minister stressed that E. Mammadyarov's visit will make a tangible contribution to the development of cooperation between the countries. During the meeting the parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding and regular diplomatic consultations between the governments of Azerbaijan and South Africa.

At a joint press conference with his South African counterpart, E. Mammadyarov said that the relations between the two countries were at "the highest level" and the turnover increased many times over in the course of several years to reach 100m dollars.

The Azerbaijani minister clearly outlined the area of interest in bilateral cooperation: "Azerbaijan is exploring opportunities to participate in promising production of shale oil and gas in South Africa and will provide training for South African oil experts at home," he said. "We are considering various options and negotiate on how to promote the development of a vast energy potential of the RSA."

E. Mammadyarov discussed the prospects for cooperation in the energy sphere in more detail with Dikobe Ben Martins, the Minister of Energy of South Africa. During the meeting, the head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry noted his country's willingness to share a wealth of experience in the energy sector. In particular, three energy specialists from the RSA are now being trained at the refresher course in Azerbaijan at the expense of the Agency for International Development. The minister also highlighted the possibility of extending such cooperation in the future. In his turn, Ben Martins recalled the visit of the delegation of the RSA's Ministry of Energy to Azerbaijan in 2012-2013 and noted the existence of favourable conditions for the development of bilateral cooperation in this area between the two countries.

It should be noted that the shale gas reserves in the Karoo desert in South Africa are estimated at 485 trillion cu ft (13.7 trillion cu m).

According to Sehlare Makget-laneng, an expert of the RSA's Institute of Africa, Azerbaijan, which has established good ties with North African states, would also like to collaborate in the central and southern parts of the African continent. "In this regard, the Republic of South Africa can serve as a good starting point because it is a hub for the development and communication of the states situated in the south of Africa," Makgetlaneng told R+. He noted that the RSA could offer Azerbaijan cooperation in the sphere of IT, services, tourism, and defence industry. "South Africa is interested in Azerbaijan's energy resources too. Azerbaijan supplies its oil and gas to different regions. We as consumers of energy are interested in diversifying our sources of supply," the expert said. Finally, yet another area of cooperation may be the joint work of South African companies in Azerbaijan and investment activity. "There are many businessmen and companies in South Africa which would like to find partners in Azerbaijan," the expert said.

Next, the Azerbaijani delegation paid an official visit to the Republic of Mozambique. E. Mammadyarov met with Oldemiro Baloi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mozambique, to discuss the possibilities of developing political, economic, cultural and educational ties between the two countries. The ministers also touched on topics of regional and international agenda. The Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan focused on the possibilities of cooperation in the field of education, in particular, on the issue of training of Mozambican specialists at ADA University. Recognizing the importance of exchanging visits in strengthening bilateral relations, E. Mammadyarov invited Oldemiro Baloi to visit Azerbaijan.

In turn, O. Baloi noted a great potential for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries, stressing the importance of involving Azerbaijani companies in infrastructure projects in his country as well as Azerbaijani investments in the economy of Mozambique.

During his meeting with Mozambique's Minister of Energy Salvador Namburete, Elmar Mammadyarov spoke about the implementation of the energy strategy of Azerbaijan, noting the rich experience of the Azerbaijani side in the exploitation and processing of energy resources. The head of Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry pointed out the possibility of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Mozambique in sharing of experience and training, which required the development of an appropriate legal framework. On his part, S. Namburete stressed that the experience gained by Azerbaijan in the energy sector was very interesting for Mozambique and that his country was interested in learning it. He also pointed to the willingness of Mozambique to develop partnership with Azerbaijan in the training of professionals in the field of oil and gas.

Botswana was the last country visited by the Azerbaijani delegation in the course of its African tour. The history of development of Botswana's economy is one of the most successful in Africa. The country's economy was almost entirely based on livestock breeding until the 1970s, when Botswana became an exporter of diamonds and other minerals. The rapid growth of diamond mining has allowed Botswana to achieve high economic growth.

Despite the relatively well-developed infrastructure with good roads and communications system, there is a shortage of specialists with strong technical skills in the country.

At a meeting with E. Mammad-yarov, Minister of Trade and Industry of Botswana Dorcas Makgato-Malesu expressed her country's readiness to provide Azerbaijani investors with favourable conditions for investments.

The meeting focused on the issues of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, the importance of creating a legal framework for this purpose and organization of mutual visits of business people.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister briefed Botswana's Minister of Trade and Industry about Azerbaijan's economy, implementation of major regional projects and the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict.

There was also a meeting held between Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Botswana's Foreign Minister Phandu Skelemani. The ministers identified the economy, energy and humanitarian spheres as priority areas of cooperation. E. Mammadyarov invited his Botswana counterpart to visit Azerbaijan.

Highlighting the importance of the visit of the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan to Botswana in terms of the development of relations between the two countries, Skelemani proposed that such mutual visits should be organized at other levels too.

Political ties were also discussed during the meeting. To this end, E. Mammadyarov met with Margaret Nasha, the Speaker of the National Assembly [parliament] of Botswana. The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister briefed the Speaker on the development of Azerbaijan, the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and its consequences and noted the importance of inter-parliamentary contacts in the development of bilateral relations. In turn, M. Nasha expressed her country's willingness to cooperate and suggested the organizing of exchange of information between parliaments and mutual visits at the initial stage. It was also reported that E. Mammadyarov, on the invitation of Botswana's Speaker of Parliament, participated in the meeting of the National Assembly as a guest of honour.

Summarizing the African tour of the Azerbaijani delegation headed by E. Mammadyarov, it is in order to recall his own words spoken from the rostrum of the UN General Assembly in New York at the 68th Session of the United Nations: "Azerbaijan has opened a new chapter in the history of its participation in international affairs having become a donor country contributing to the sustainable development of countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America."

In recent years, the visits of the Azerbaijani government delegations to South America and Africa have contributed to the formation of a stable image of Azerbaijan as a potential new investor willing to invest in the still not completely explored regions of the world. Especially since Azerbaijan, which was a powerful source of manpower in the oil and industrial sectors in the Soviet period, is remembered by many students from the African continent exclusively on the positive side.