Minister Lajčák Officially Opens Slovakia’s Embassy in Baku

Today (November 28, 2019), Miroslav Lajčák, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic and Chairperson-in-Office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) officially opened the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Azerbaijan. “The opening of our diplomatic mission in Baku is an important moment for the further development of Slovak-Azerbaijani relations and will be a significant factor for making bilateral relations more intense and the use of the existing potential for cooperation more effective. This applies mainly to the area of economy and trade,” stated the chief Slovak diplomat. According to Miroslav Lajčák, the sectors with the greatest prospects are primarily the energy sector, the construction industry, the development of infrastructure, agriculture, information technologies, and tourism, with special focus on the spa industry. One of the priority tasks of the ambassador will therefore be to coordinate the pragmatic dialogue and network-building among business entities from the two countries.

 
As part of his working visit, Minister Lajčák was received by the Azerbaijani President, IIham Alijev. He also met with Ali Asadov, Prime Minister of Azerbaijan and Elmar Mammadjarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs. Miroslav Lajčák informed the highest representatives of Azerbaijan about the priorities of the Slovak chairmanship in the OSCE and their fulfilment; he confirmed the organization’s strong interest in reducing tension in the region of the Southern Caucasus and the related support of a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. In this regard, he expressed his support for the endeavours of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, and for the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on the conflict dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.

Source of the text and photos: MZVaEZ