Our Neighbors, NKR and Azerbaijan, Compete in Efforts to Deepen Relations with France

• 05.21.2015, 11:15
•  Region,  World,  NKR

Our neighbors Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Republic of Azerbaijan seem do not want to yield each other in deepening their cooperation with France. On May 17 NKR delegation headed by Bako Sahakyan made an official visit to France. During the visit President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was in the Drôme department in Southeastern France and in its capital Valence, where he met with members of the Regional Council headed by chairman of the council Patrick Labaune.  During the meeting cooperation agreements between the department of Drôme and Artsakh, Valence and Stepanakert were signed. Bako Sahakyan was granted with the title of Drôme department honorary citizen and handed in the appropriate certificate.

In response to this the other day French Ambassador in Azerbaijan, Pascal Monnier, informed that French town of Colmar and the Azerbaijani city of Sheki, as well as  Évian-les-Bains or Évian ( commune in the northern part of the Haute-Savoie departmentin the  Rhone-Alpes region in south-eastern France ) and Ismayilli (capital of the Ismaili Rayon of Azerbaijan) are going to sign a cooperation agreement. According to the diplomat Mayors of those French cities were in Azerbaijan to participate in the Third World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue and after the Forum they were going to sign contracts.

Such kind of competition between our neighbors to deepen their bilateral relations with France can be considered a constructive trend and proves that the countries in the South Caucasus continue to remain active in their initiatives (in some cases we deal with such kind of   positive competition) to deepen their bilateral relations with the EU states. Besides it is better for Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Republic of Azerbaijan to compete in deepening their diplomatic relations with the European countries to be engaged in arms race.