No:297/21, Information of the Press Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the meeting of Minister Jeyhun Bayramov with the Minister of Communications of the Republic of Iraq Arkan Shihab Al-Sheybani

On August 6, 2021, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov received a delegation led by the Minister of Communications of the Republic of Iraq Arkan Shihab Al-Sheybani.

Welcoming the Minister of Communications of the Republic of Iraq Arkan Shihab Al-Sheybani, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov stressed the successful development of relations between Azerbaijan and Iraq on the principles of historical friendship and mutual respect and expressed satisfaction with the high level of bilateral cooperation in various fields. He noted the activities of the Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iraq and expressed hope that the agreements reached during the second meeting of the Commission and a number of meetings held in the framework of the visit would create new opportunities for the development of fruitful cooperation and relations between our countries. Minister Jeyhun Bayramov praised the fruitful meetings with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein within the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, which he attended on June 18 of this year, and noted with satisfaction that comprehensive discussions were held on the development of relations between the two countries in many areas.

Minister Jeyhun Bayramov thanked Iraq for its support in the former Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict within the framework of international organizations in terms of our country's sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders. The Minister informed the opposite side in detail about Armenia's aggressive policy against Azerbaijan, the 44-day Patriotic War, the situation in the region after the signing of the trilateral statement on November 10, 2020, the scale of the destruction in the liberated territories, the destruction of religious and cultural monuments, restoration and reconstruction works carried out in the liberated territories, the threat of landmines and the need for families to return to their homes.

Iraqi Minister of Communications Arkan Al-Sheybani, who is visiting Azerbaijan to attend the second meeting of the Joint Commission, expressed satisfaction with his visit to Azerbaijan and thanked for the hospitality and high-level organization of meetings during the visit. He stressed the historical friendship and cultural ties between Iraq and Azerbaijan, and noted with satisfaction the agreements reached during the meetings and the agreements to be signed in this regard. Minister Arkan Al-Sheybani praised Azerbaijan's successful activities as chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement and the initiative to convene a special session on the fight against COVID-19. He also expressed hope that relations between the two countries would further expand on multilateral platforms and continue on the basis of norms and principles of international law.

Touching upon the former Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Minister Arkan Al-Sheybani said that Iraq has always supported the norms and principles of international law and UN resolutions.

At the meeting, the sides also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.