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Azerbaijan's Aliev Seeks Polish Help for European Integration
Jamestown Foundation
05 April 2005
Fariz Ismailzade
After visits to Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China, Azerbaijan's President
Ilham Aliev reversed course and paid a visit to a European country --
Poland -- on March 30. The trip refuted speculations that Azerbaijan
was gradually shifting its foreign policy course towards the East.
The visit was important from two perspectives: Poland's involvement
in energy transport issues in Azerbaijan and the political-military
assistance that Poland can render to Azerbaijan in its efforts to
integrate with European institutions. "We should do our utmost to
widen our links in numerous fields," Aliev said in Warsaw (Baku Sun,
April 1). Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski responded by saying
that Poland was ready to help Azerbaijan integrate into Euro-Atlantic
structures (Zerkalo, March 31).
As in his visits to other countries, economic issues dominated
President Aliev's program. The inclusion of Minister of Economic
Development Farkhad Aliev (no relation to President Aliev) and the
head of the Customs Committee, Kamaleddin Heydarov, in the delegation
has become a regular feature of the President's visits. This shows
the vital role that President Aliev gives to the issues of foreign
investment, bilateral trade, and increased economic cooperation.
During Aliev's visit to Poland, the governments of the two countries
signed several economic agreements on topics such as mutual trade
and economic cooperation, double taxation, and mutual protection of
investments (Azeri Times, April 1). President Aliev also met with
Polish businessmen and encouraged them to invest in the Azerbaijani
economy by describing the recent legal and economic reforms in the
country. A group of Polish private sector representatives already
visited Baku several years ago (Azeri Times, April 1). Poland, which
has recently joined the European Union, can serve as a good model
for -- as well as an advocate of -- Azerbaijan, which also aspires
to become a member of the EU in the future.
Yet, potential cooperation in the oil and gas sector overshadowed all
other issues. Poland seemed very eager to cooperate with Azerbaijan
on the issue of oil and gas transit from the Caspian region. This
topic has been active since 1998, when Poland's President Kwasniewski
visited Azerbaijan. On April 3 ANS television's weekly analytical
program claimed that Poland's interest in this issue comes from
its desire to lower its dependence on Russian energy supplies. One
way Poland could boost its role in the East-West energy transport
corridor is by extending the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline from Ukraine
to the Polish port of Gdansk on the Baltic Sea. President Kwasniewski
has repeatedly mentioned this idea during bilateral talks.
The project is a worthwhile consideration, if for no other reason than
it would boost the trade between Poland and GUAM members (Georgia,
Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova) and lower their dependence on Russia
transit routes. However, in order to fully realize this idea, two
factors are required: increased amounts of oil coming from the Caspian
and reversing the flow of the Odessa-Brody pipeline (currently it
is running southward carrying Russian oil to the Black Sea.) Newly
elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has already expressed
his intention to reverse the course of that pipeline. As for the
first factor, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili recently visited
Kazakhstan where he actively urged President Nursultan Nazarbayev to
ship some Kazakh oil to Europe through Georgia and Ukraine. Nazarbayev
has reportedly promised to send a governmental delegation to Azerbaijan
to discuss the tariff issues (Echo, April 2). Should these issues be
resolved, Poland could become another important outlet for Caspian oil,
which would further strengthen the European integration of Azerbaijan.
Another issue emphasized in the bilateral talks was military
cooperation. Azerbaijani Minister of Defense Safar Abiev was added
to the delegation specifically for this topic. Unlike China, Poland
has even signed a special agreement with Azerbaijan in the sphere of
military-technical cooperation and assistance.
Poland, having recently become a member of NATO, can offer Azerbaijan
priceless lessons in terms of modernizing its army, raising it to
NATO standards, and conducting military exercises and training for
soldiers and officers. Poland could also become a strong advocate
of Azerbaijan inside the European political and military structures,
especially on the issue of the Karabakh conflict.
During the bilateral talks, President Kwasniewski reportedly
said that Poland supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and
believes that the Karabakh conflict should be resolved according to
international law. "Baku's offer to give the broadest level of autonomy
to Nagorno-Karabakh is worth considering," President Kwasniewski said
(ANS TV, April 3).
--Boundary_(ID_ICs8KorDS0y+43Yjf8347g)--
Jamestown Foundation
05 April 2005
Fariz Ismailzade
After visits to Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China, Azerbaijan's President
Ilham Aliev reversed course and paid a visit to a European country --
Poland -- on March 30. The trip refuted speculations that Azerbaijan
was gradually shifting its foreign policy course towards the East.
The visit was important from two perspectives: Poland's involvement
in energy transport issues in Azerbaijan and the political-military
assistance that Poland can render to Azerbaijan in its efforts to
integrate with European institutions. "We should do our utmost to
widen our links in numerous fields," Aliev said in Warsaw (Baku Sun,
April 1). Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski responded by saying
that Poland was ready to help Azerbaijan integrate into Euro-Atlantic
structures (Zerkalo, March 31).
As in his visits to other countries, economic issues dominated
President Aliev's program. The inclusion of Minister of Economic
Development Farkhad Aliev (no relation to President Aliev) and the
head of the Customs Committee, Kamaleddin Heydarov, in the delegation
has become a regular feature of the President's visits. This shows
the vital role that President Aliev gives to the issues of foreign
investment, bilateral trade, and increased economic cooperation.
During Aliev's visit to Poland, the governments of the two countries
signed several economic agreements on topics such as mutual trade
and economic cooperation, double taxation, and mutual protection of
investments (Azeri Times, April 1). President Aliev also met with
Polish businessmen and encouraged them to invest in the Azerbaijani
economy by describing the recent legal and economic reforms in the
country. A group of Polish private sector representatives already
visited Baku several years ago (Azeri Times, April 1). Poland, which
has recently joined the European Union, can serve as a good model
for -- as well as an advocate of -- Azerbaijan, which also aspires
to become a member of the EU in the future.
Yet, potential cooperation in the oil and gas sector overshadowed all
other issues. Poland seemed very eager to cooperate with Azerbaijan
on the issue of oil and gas transit from the Caspian region. This
topic has been active since 1998, when Poland's President Kwasniewski
visited Azerbaijan. On April 3 ANS television's weekly analytical
program claimed that Poland's interest in this issue comes from
its desire to lower its dependence on Russian energy supplies. One
way Poland could boost its role in the East-West energy transport
corridor is by extending the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline from Ukraine
to the Polish port of Gdansk on the Baltic Sea. President Kwasniewski
has repeatedly mentioned this idea during bilateral talks.
The project is a worthwhile consideration, if for no other reason than
it would boost the trade between Poland and GUAM members (Georgia,
Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova) and lower their dependence on Russia
transit routes. However, in order to fully realize this idea, two
factors are required: increased amounts of oil coming from the Caspian
and reversing the flow of the Odessa-Brody pipeline (currently it
is running southward carrying Russian oil to the Black Sea.) Newly
elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has already expressed
his intention to reverse the course of that pipeline. As for the
first factor, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili recently visited
Kazakhstan where he actively urged President Nursultan Nazarbayev to
ship some Kazakh oil to Europe through Georgia and Ukraine. Nazarbayev
has reportedly promised to send a governmental delegation to Azerbaijan
to discuss the tariff issues (Echo, April 2). Should these issues be
resolved, Poland could become another important outlet for Caspian oil,
which would further strengthen the European integration of Azerbaijan.
Another issue emphasized in the bilateral talks was military
cooperation. Azerbaijani Minister of Defense Safar Abiev was added
to the delegation specifically for this topic. Unlike China, Poland
has even signed a special agreement with Azerbaijan in the sphere of
military-technical cooperation and assistance.
Poland, having recently become a member of NATO, can offer Azerbaijan
priceless lessons in terms of modernizing its army, raising it to
NATO standards, and conducting military exercises and training for
soldiers and officers. Poland could also become a strong advocate
of Azerbaijan inside the European political and military structures,
especially on the issue of the Karabakh conflict.
During the bilateral talks, President Kwasniewski reportedly
said that Poland supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and
believes that the Karabakh conflict should be resolved according to
international law. "Baku's offer to give the broadest level of autonomy
to Nagorno-Karabakh is worth considering," President Kwasniewski said
(ANS TV, April 3).
--Boundary_(ID_ICs8KorDS0y+43Yjf8347g)--