2 April 2003

NATO logistics support to Azerbaijan Azerbaijan has started to set up the working procedures with NATO for assistance in the clearance of unexploded ordnance (UXO). On 2 April, the Ambassador of Azerbaijan, Mir-Gamza Efendiyez, and the General Manager of the NATO Maintenance & Supply Agency (NAMSA) Mr Peter D. Markey - representing the NATO Maintenance & Supply Organisation (NAMSO) - signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the implementation of the agreement for a Trust Fund Project on logistics cooperation under the umbrella of the Partnership for Peace programme (PfP). This MOU will serve as the legal basis under which a cooperation agreement between Azerbaijan and NAMSA for UXO clearance can be signed, in the context of a PfP Trust Fund Project. NAMSA has been working with the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action to develop a project proposal for UXO clearance since end 2002. The lead NATO member country for this PfP Trust Fund Project is Turkey. The PfP Trust Fund Policy was launched in September 2000 to support the safe destruction of stocks of anti-personnel land mines in partner countries, and was amended in May 2001 to include the safe destruction of surplus small arms and light weapons. In short, the initiative provides the framework and practical mechanism for the development of demilitarisation projects, which are funded by NATO member countries on a voluntary basis. Additional information: Background: Partnership for Peace Trust Fund Web site: NATO's Maintenance & Supply Agency