RELIABLE PARTNERS

The first half of April was really rich in important events in Azerbaijan's foreign policy - official visits by the Azerbaijani foreign minister to Georgia and then, by the Lithuanian foreign minister to Baku, and finally, by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko to Azerbaijan at the head of a representative Ukrainian delegation.

The latter visit, be many parameters, became an important event in the development of bilateral relations between Baku and Kiev - in terms of the wide range of problems that were examined, the number and quality of the documents that were signed and new mechanisms of bilateral dialogue and interaction. For this reason, it is no accident that summarizing the results of the visit, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that "we see Ukraine as one of our most reliable partners in the world".

As for the problems that were discussed, the sides discussed in detail prospects of cooperation in spheres like trade and investment, energy and transport, and military-technical and aerospace cooperation.

The presidents did not simply declaratively note the strategic nature of bilateral relations, but also backed up their declarations with specific agreements. President Yushchenko said in this regard that "our relations of strategic partnership were given a wider legal base today". The documents and agreements that were signed (eight documents were signed) include a plan of measures on Azerbaijani-Ukrainian cooperation in 2009-2010, an interregional agreement between the administration of Ukraine's Volynsk region and the executive authorities of Ganca and a plan of consultations between the two countries' foreign ministries in 2009-2010 on important issues of bilateral cooperation. The sides also singed agreements on military-technical cooperation, on cooperation in the sphere of researching and using outer space for peaceful purposes, as well as on cooperation between the two countries' intelligence services.

The plan of measures should be especially highlighted. This is a large-scale and well-structured document which identifies the main priorities and measures of bilateral cooperation for the next two years in spheres like political dialogue and cooperation both in a bilateral format and in international organizations (UN, OSCE and others), trade and economy, the fuel and energy sphere, transport, the sphere of security and military-technical cooperation and humanitarian and interregional interaction.

The creation of a fundamentally new mechanism of bilateral dialogue and interaction - the Council of Presidents - was an important moment in the development of Azerbaijani-Ukrainian relations. The Council of Presidents was set up in May 2008 on the initiative of the Ukrainian side which already has experience in holding sessions of the Council of Presidents with such countries as Lithuania, Poland and others. Baku positively reacted to the Ukrainian initiative to found such a format of interaction with Azerbaijan and thinks that it will give an additional impetus to the development of bilateral relations. It must be noted that the most important tasks of the Council are to form a strategy of relations between the two countries and control over the implementation of the agreements that were reached at the high level on important issues of cooperation.

According to the results of the first session of the Council of Presidents in Baku, the sides singed a protocol which reflects the two countries' common approaches and policy on many important issues of the international and regional situation and issued clear instructions to the ministries and departments of the two countries regarding the implementation of specific issues of bilateral cooperation.

One of the most important results of the Azerbaijan-Ukraine summit was that the sides attained a great degree of mutual understanding and support on important issues of European and regional security. The two heads of state said that they attach strategic important to the EU vector of their foreign policy and agreed to hold consultations and exchange experience on issues of European integration and cooperation with the EU. The two countries' interaction on this issue is of special importance ahead of the 7 May inauguration summit of Eastern Partnership in Prague.

The last point of the Ukrainian delegation's official visit to Baku was the signing by the two presidents of a memorial plaque on the building which housed the embassy of the Ukrainian People's Republic in the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1919. In such a symbolic way, the sides marked the 90th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two first democratic republics of Azerbaijan and Ukraine and confirmed the continuity of the policy of good neighbourliness, mutual support and cooperation which originates from the beginning of the previous century.

On the whole, the meetings and negotiations held in Baku confirmed the aspiration of the two countries' leaders to strengthen strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Ukraine, to raise bilateral relations to a higher and new level and make their interaction dynamic both in the sphere of bilateral relations and in the international arena. Thus, the presidents had their say. Now "little has to be done" - it is necessary to implement the agreements that were reached, which directly depends on the efforts, initiative and efficiency of the two countries' ministers and ministry officials.