UNDER THE SYMBOL OF GERMANY

On 19 February, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid a brief visit to Baku as part of a tour of the countries of the South Caucasus. The appearance of the high-ranking German visitor in the Azerbaijani capital came as a surprise to observers. Indeed, an Azerbaijani delegation led by President Ilham Aliyev had returned from Germany only three days prior to that, following a three-day official visit (14-16 February). The delegation was received by German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and other members of the federal government. 

During the meetings and negotiations held in Germany, the two sides had the opportunity to discuss issues pertaining to bilateral relations, matters relevant to both countries, as well as problems of international and regional security. For this reason, the visit by the German foreign minister paved the way for much speculation about increased German diplomacy. In reality, however, things turned out to be much more straightforward - the visit to the South Caucasus region (which will be followed by a trip to one of the Central Asian capitals) was planned by the German Foreign Ministry earlier and was directly connected to Germany's presidency of the European Union, which commenced in January of this year.

By and large, the fact that the two visits overlapped did not do bilateral relations any harm. Baku and Berlin had further opportunities to exchange opinions on issues and topics of mutual interest, to clarify their approaches to different problems in view of the continuously changing international situation, to strengthen previous contacts and to establish new relationships. In this respect, it is worth mentioning that Mr. Steinmeier was received not only by the president and the foreign minister in Baku, but also by the president of the State Oil Company, which is evidence of the growing interest of Germany and the European Union as a whole in the problem of ensuring energy security in Europe.

As far as the Azerbaijani side is concerned, relations with Berlin are particularly important. First of all, Germany is Azerbaijan's second biggest trading partner in the European Union, next only to Italy (412m dollars in 2006, while trade relations with Italy account for almost 3bn dollars) and our sixth biggest trading partner in the world (following Italy, Russia, Israel, Turkey and Great Britain). It is also worth mentioning that Germany is the leading European Union exporter (and the world's third biggest exporter of products to Azerbaijan, after Russia and Great Britain). In other words, our trade relations with this country, unlike relations with a number of other European countries (for instance, Italy, Israel, France and Greece), are characterized not by the export of Azerbaijani oil but by the procurement of the hi-tech products required for the modernization of the national economy. This factor determines the special place and role of Germany in Azerbaijan's foreign economic strategy. 

Secondly, as stated above, until the end of June Berlin will function as president of the European Union and will conduct the organization's policy with regard to other countries and regions, including the South Caucasus. For this reason, progressive relations and active political dialogue with Berlin are extremely important for the strengthening of Azerbaijan's standing in Europe, especially under current circumstances, when an individual Action Plan has been enacted between Azerbaijan and the European Union.

And finally, Germany is the leading country of the European Union. It has tremendous political clout and authority in international affairs which can be used for the successful solution of Azerbaijan's pressing problems within the framework of international organizations. In this respect, it is worth taking into account the opportunities available to German diplomacy in contributing to the solution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagornyy Karabakh. As is known, Germany's position on this problem was clearly defined in Berlin. This position is based on unequivocal support for the principle of the territorial integrity of our country. This approach already speaks volumes, especially if we take into account the fact that Berlin is acting not only on its own behalf, but also on behalf of the entire European Union. It appears that the EU is already paying attention to new trends in the approaches of the three OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries to the problem. 

After negotiations with the Azerbaijani foreign minister, Mr. Steinmeier said that as part of its presidency in the European Union, Germany would be giving special attention to cooperation with Black Sea countries. We believe that this statement is not a mere "formality". It reflects the geopolitical reality which has taken shape in the region. After Romania and Bulgaria were admitted to the European Union, its borders stretch as far as the Black Sea, and Black Sea countries, which include not only Georgia but also Azerbaijan and Armenia, have become immediate maritime neighbours of the EU. This circumstance will undoubtedly encourage the current EU presidency to play a more active part in resolving regional disputes and developing regional economic cooperation. As a matter of fact, the latter should not be separated from the former. In this connection, it is worth pointing to the growing understanding in Europe that if Yerevan does not revise its approach to relationships with its neighbours, then "broad" (with the participation of Armenia) regional cooperation -in the contexts of both the Black Sea and the South Caucasus - will have no future. Let us hope that the European Union as a whole, and Germany as its president, will build their South Caucasus policy on the reality of these circumstances.