Baku, Oct 23 — External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Friday said that India and Azerbaijan have common interest in promoting peace, progress and prosperity while describing terrorism, conflict and instability as "common enemies" to both countries.
Making a joint press statement along with Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov in Baku, EAM Jaishankar said that India welcomes the agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia and hopes that it would lead to the establishment of durable peace. He reiterated India's stance that disputes can be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.
"We have, of course, been monitoring carefully developments in this region. We welcome the peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia reached in August last year and hope that it would lead to the establishment of a durable peace. India has a very clear position that disputes should be settled through dialogue and diplomacy and in that context, we had of course, our discussions covered the Middle East, West Asia, Europe, Eurasia and we assessed really the global implications of these conflicts because they have created today a big problem particularly for Global South economies in food, fuel, in fertiliser and in finance," said EAM Jaishankar.
"We have a common interest in really promoting peace and progress and prosperity, and threats like terrorism, conflict, instability are our common enemies. We exchanged views also little bit on reforming and expanding international and regional organisations, making them more contemporary, making them more relevant, and I do want to say that today I felt our discussions, Minister, were very productive. I think they have helped to determine a pathway forward for our ties, and I have invited the Foreign Minister to visit India soon at his convenience," he added.
EAM Jaishankar said that he and Bayramov discussed further expanding bilateral ties and spoke about economic cooperation, including in trade, investment and energy.
"Given our complementary economies, we believe that there is very good scope for further enhancement of our bilateral trade and investment. We also discussed various activities and exchanges, how do we take this forward."
Terming connectivity important in a "globalised economy", EAM Jaishankar said that Azerbaijan and Iran are invested in the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and agreed to coordinate more closely in this regard.
"We spoke about connectivity because that is so important in a globalised economy. We are both invested in the International North South Transport Corridor, that's very important for us. We agreed today that we will coordinate more closely in that regard. Air connectivity is also something that we value. There are daily flights but obviously to deepen the relations we have to think about how to grow that further."
EAM Jaishankar expressed gratitude to Bayramov for Azerbaijan's assistance in evacuating Indian nationals, particularly students from Iran, during the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
"We have Indian students here Azerbaijan. I want to thank you for the care and consideration with which you look after them. And I would also particularly like to place on record our gratitude for your assistance in evacuating Indian nationals, particularly students from Iran earlier in this year during the conflict there," he said.
Describing his talks with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev earlier in the day as "focussed and forward-looking", EAM Jaishankar said that they discussed various aspects of bilateral ties and regional and global developments.
"Today soon after my arrival, I called on Mr President and conveyed my greetings of President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Our discussions were focussed. They were forward-looking and we exchanged views on various aspects of our relationship. Infact, the President was kind enough to give a lot of time to review really the entire gamut of our ties, including ongoing cooperation, what we could be doing more, what we could be doing differently."
"We also discussed important regional and global developments from a strategic perspective and please bear in mind that we are both independent-minded nations who make their own call on the important issues of the day. Now, our two countries have a long history of cultural and people-to-people exchanges. We respect each other's culture and values and that provides a very good foundation to work towards a more contemporary partnership," he added.