President visits Azerbaijan
President Bronisław Komorowski has travelled to the Caucasus for a six-day visit covering Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. It is the first time he has visited this region.
On Monday, in Baku – the capital city of Azerbaijan, Komorowski met president Ilham Aliyev and the chairman of the Azeri National Assembly. Agreements on foreign policy, culture, economy and science were signed between Polish and Azeri ministries in the presence of Komorowski and Aliyev. The documents signed included a 2011-2013 cultural partnership agreement, a veterinary partnership agreement and an agreement for non-visa traffic for diplomatic passport holders.
"Poland remains highly interested in the construction of transfer systems which would help Poland solve its energy problems, but first and foremost they would be important solutions for the whole EU" said Komorowski at a joint press conference with the president of Azerbaijan.
He emphasised that this pertained both to the gas pipeline and "to an old project, funds for which have already been granted from the EU – the Odessa-Brody-Płock-Gdańsk pipeline." Komorowski assured that the project had not been abandoned.
Bronisław Komorowski said that he had invited president Aliyev to the Eastern Partnership summit that will be held in Warsaw at the end of September.
"Poland is very interested in the progress of Azerbaijan talks with EU institutions regarding prospects for association and inclusion in an area governed by uniform economic rules," the Polish president added.
During the Polish-Azeri economic forum president Bronisław Komorowski stressed the importance of seeking new areas of cooperation with the Azeri, which would go beyond the fuel sector.
"In Poland we are proud to highlight the fact that we were the only country in the EU that has not suffered a recession for a whole two decades" president Komorowski stated.
He said he was pleased that "the very good Polish-Azeri relations and good political relations" offered "more and more room for seeking new areas of economic partnership."
The president emphasised that he was counting on the activity of small and medium businesses from Poland. "Also here, in Azerbaijan – a place of brand new opportunities that are a result of the great developmental progress of the Azeri economy, based mostly on the fuel sector," he added.