The EU High Representative Federica Mogherini will visit Azerbaijan Feb. 29 – March 1, said Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesman of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry.
“Mogherini will discuss issues on the cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU,” said Hajiyev.
The visit’s program includes the High Representative’s meetings with the Azerbaijani officials, including the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, he added.
Azerbaijan expects to receive the EU Council’s mandate to negotiate on a new agreement on strategic modernization partnership, which will determine the format of the future cooperation with the EU.
The Azerbaijani government submitted a draft agreement to the EU in May 2015 as part of the Eastern Partnership summit in Riga, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev said earlier adding that we are expecting now to obtain a mandate from the highest political body of the EU to start the negotiation process.
Currently, the bilateral relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are regulated on the basis of agreement on partnership and cooperation, which was signed in 1996. A new agreement envisages the adjustment of Azerbaijan’s legislation and procedures to the EU’s most important international and trade norms and standards, which should lead to an improvement in the access of Azerbaijani goods to the EU markets.
Apa.az