Germany calls on Azerbaijan and Armenia to ‘go the last mile on the way to a peace agreement’

The German Embassy in Azerbaijan organized a solemn reception on the occasion of the country's National Day - - German Unity Day. Germany celebrates the 34th anniversary of the country's peaceful reunification on 3 October.

‘German unity came with the end of the Cold War and at the same time became the cornerstone of a free and united Europe. Germans will always be grateful to their neighbors, allies and friends who supported us along the way. And we will always stand firmly for the principles and values that underpin German and European unity: freedom, peace, justice and democracy,’ Ambassador Ralf Horlemann said, welcoming the audience.

Touching upon bilateral relations, he noted that over the past year Germany and Azerbaijan have interacted intensively on a wide range of issues and many visits have taken place in both directions, including two visits of President Ilham Aliyev to Germany and the visit of German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock to Baku.

He stated that the dialogue between Baku and Berlin ‘has been close, meaningful and constructive and characterized by mutual respect’. ‘One of the core issues of co-operation has been and remains COP29. As a leading country in the climate negotiation process, Germany has long supported Azerbaijan as the future chair of COP. Because we see the opportunity this represents not only for one country, but also for our planet, I would like to commend the government of Azerbaijan for its excellent work in preparing this crucial conference and ensuring its success,’ Horlemann emphasized.

Germany has a key interest in making COP29 a success and is actively promoting its own energy transition to a renewable and sustainable future, including electric mobility.  The energy transition could create 30-50 million new jobs worldwide by 2030.

From the outset, COP29 has been closely linked to the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the Ambassadorship further noted. ‘We have high hopes that COP29 will also help bring peace to the South Caucasus. Never before have the two countries (Azerbaijan and Armenia) been closer to a peace agreement. Both sides have taken bold steps towards peace and we encourage them to also go the last mile towards a peace agreement, which is always the most difficult. Germany remains committed to supporting this process,’ the Ambassador emphasized.

Germany, as a member of the European Union, is also committed to deepening and strengthening its relations with Azerbaijan. ‘We have discussed many issues during this year and we look forward to continuing on this path in the future,’ the German diplomat emphasized.

Speaking on behalf of the Azerbaijani government, head of the Foreign Ministry's European Affairs department Mammad Ahmedzadeh noted the successful development of bilateral ties.

Germany, he said, is Azerbaijan's second largest trade partner among EU countries.  Last year, the volume of mutual trade reached $1.8 billion. And in the first eight months of the current year the trade turnover totaled 980 million US dollars, the Azerbaijani diplomat noted.

He pointed to the large number of German companies operating in Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani-German high level ‘Working Group on Trade and Investment' plays an important role in the development of economic cooperation.

This year's mission to Azerbaijan by the German Eastern Business Association was useful to explore new opportunities for cooperation, Ahmedzadeh continued.

He also mentioned the active participation of the German side in the preparations for the COP29 conference as one of the examples of bilateral cooperation.