On June 17, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov received US Congressman Abraham Hamade, who is on a visit to the country.
During the meeting, the current state and development prospects of Azerbaijan-US bilateral relations, regional and international security issues, energy security, transport and communication links, as well as the situation in the post-conflict period in the South Caucasus were discussed.
Minister Bayramov emphasized the importance of the Summit held in Washington in August last year for bilateral and regional relations. He noted that the historic agreements reached during the summit served to raise relations between the two countries to a qualitatively new level. The Strategic Partnership Charter signed between Azerbaijan and the United States was highlighted as creating an important basis for expanding cooperation in political dialogue, economic cooperation, energy security, and security.
It was also noted that the first Azerbaijan-US Economic Cooperation Dialogue was held, resulting in the signing of 10 cooperation documents covering trade, investments, energy, transport, digital development, and other areas.
The meeting stressed the importance of implementing the TRIPP project, which aims to strengthen transport and communication links in the region and create unimpeded connections between mainland Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.
Discussions on future development prospects of Azerbaijan-US relations emphasized the importance of removing restrictions in bilateral cooperation. It was noted that the complete repeal of Section 907, which limits US state aid to Azerbaijan, would be in line with the spirit of strategic partnership and contribute to expanding cooperation in security, energy, transport, economy, and regional stability. The amendment was described as reflecting an outdated approach inconsistent with current geopolitical realities and the level of Azerbaijan-US partnership.
The Minister spoke about Azerbaijan's long-term contributions to Europe's and wider region's energy security and provided information on projects in the green energy sector. Broad opportunities for cooperation between Azerbaijan and the US in this area were emphasized.
The strategic importance of Azerbaijan's ties with Central Asian countries and its admission as a full member of the Central Asia Consultative Meeting was highlighted, noting broad opportunities for cooperation in the C6 format.
The normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia was also discussed. The Minister provided detailed information about the normalization process and reconstruction work in the liberated territories.
