Azerbaijani ministry: Tbilisi to host meeting on EU Eastern Partnership programme

A second meeting will be held in the format of an informal dialogue on the EU programme ‘Eastern Partnership’ in Tbilisi on February 12-13, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Elman Abdullayev said at a briefing today.
The Azerbaijani delegation will be headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev on the first day of the meeting, Abdullayev said.
“The current issues of cooperation in this format, implementation of cooperation between the ‘Eastern Partnership’ member states are planned to be discussed at the meeting,” he said. “Issues of preparation for the summit of presidents of the ‘Eastern Partnership’ member states will be discussed in Vilnius in November.”
The second day of the meeting will be devoted to transportation issues where Azerbaijani Transport Minister Ziya Mammadov will head the Azerbaijani delegation, Abdullayev said.
“The unification of local legislation to European standards, as well as increase in the efficiency of cargo transportation is expected to be discussed,” Abdullayev said.
The Eastern Partnership is aimed at the political and economic rapprochement of six post-Soviet states: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus with the EU. The programme does not provide opportunities for EU membership, but involves facilitating visa applications, energy cooperation and the introduction of free trade zones.