19 May 2004

Azerbaijan and NATO enhance cooperation News 18/05/2004 - NATO Visit to NATO by Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Wednesday, 19 May 2004 Opinions 19/05/2004 - NATO Joint press point with NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, and Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Multimedia Audio file of the point de presse (.MP3/2186kb) High resolution photos Azeri President Ilham Aliyev presented a plan for closer bilateral cooperation between NATO and Azerbaijan during a visit to NATO Headquarters on 19 May. The President addressed the North Atlantic Council and met with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheefer to present and outline Azerbaijan’s individual partnership action plan. The plan foresees enhanced cooperation with NATO in the areas of defence and political reform. Azerbaijan is only the second NATO partner country to present such a plan, following Georgia. The idea of individual partnership action plans – or IPAPS - was launched at the 2002 Prague Summit. Unlike other partnership activities, this is a flexible mechanism not based on a standardized list of goals but on specific issues, which may equally be put forward by the partner nation. The President and the Secretary General also discussed the security situation in the region and issues of common concern.