President Ilham Aliyev has received the participants of the Council of CIS Interior Ministers meeting under way in Baku.
Expressing his satisfaction with the fact that the meeting of the Council of CIS Interior Ministers was being held in Baku, President Ilham Aliyev said:
- Welcome to Azerbaijan. I am glad to welcome you all to our country. I am happy that Baku is hosting a regular meeting of interior ministers of CIS countries. This is a good sign of attitude towards our country. This is how we perceive this. I am sure that the meeting will be held at a high level and will discuss important issues of interaction and cooperation.
In general, the cooperation between law-enforcement agencies of our countries is very dynamic and successful. And, of course, cooperation within the framework of the Ministries of Internal Affairs has a special significance. As for us, Azerbaijan has established very friendly relations, the relations of trust and mutual support with the countries you represent. This support is also evident in the level of cooperation that exists.
We are all interconnected in today's world and must seek to build up the capacity of cooperation, exchange information where necessary in order to make joint efforts to prevent abuses. Global threats are growing, and although the nature of these threats remains the same, their shape is changing. And, of course, we must be ready for new challenges, new threats. The safety and lives of our citizens will depend on how effectively friendly countries, in this case within the CIS, collaborate. So, overall, I consider and evaluate the cooperation among bodies of internal affairs and CIS countries as being very positive within our organization and bilaterally. I am sure that the days you will spend together in Baku will be important in terms of identifying further ways of developing and strengthening this cooperation. Also, this cooperation is an integral part of the overall positive trend in the FSU. Azerbaijan is an active member of the CIS, is involved in many programs and projects – humanitarian, economic and in the promotion of security.
The President of Azerbaijan said that his meetings with the leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States always attach great importance to issues of regional security:
- In my contacts and meetings with the leaders of your countries, among other issues, we always discuss these topics and always state the progress in this direction. In the first place, of course, we are talking about cooperation between immediate neighbors. This cooperation, of course, has a special format, because security in neighboring countries is, in general, part of your own security. Given the visa-free regime between our countries and the free movement of people, the strengthening of interaction is very important. Because unfortunately our countries sometimes experience unforeseen events, terrorist attacks, and of course we must be prepared to meet these challenges, coordinate our efforts and share information. The level of Azerbaijan’s cooperation with the countries you represent is very high.
Indicating that Azerbaijan successfully cooperates with Interpol, President Ilham Aliyev said:
- I am very pleased to see our friend Mr. Noble here. This is not his first visit to Azerbaijan. The cooperation between Azerbaijan and Interpol is at the highest level. The support, the technical support and expertise we get from Interpol is very important to us. I am very pleased that you are taking part in this meeting. This is also a sign of multilateral cooperation. Because as many countries as possible should be together in these issues, should be, as they say, in the same boat in order to protect the peaceful lives of our citizens.
I want to heartily welcome you again, thank you for accepting the invitation of our minister to come to Baku. I am sure that these days will be important for our cooperation and memorable for you.
Interior Minister Ramil Usubov said that during the discussion of the issues on the meeting agenda, the participants agreed on the special importance of cooperation in combating transnational crime:
- We agreed, as you said, Mr. President, that interaction is necessary, especially in combating transnational crime. We have very good relations with all the countries represented here. Especially, as you correctly pointed out, with neighboring countries. Especially with the Russian Interior Ministry. We have very good relations in the North Caucasus, with borderline areas. Our leaders meet frequently – once or twice a year. Yesterday and today we talked about the need for continuing this cooperation in the future.
Expressing his gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for the conditions created for the meeting to be held in Azerbaijan, Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said:
- The Council of Ministers of Internal Affairs of the CIS really allows us to solve many problems of interstate nature in the fight against crime. Even at today's meeting we discussed almost all the priority areas of our work, reviewed interim results in the execution of international programs to combat crime, decided to create a concept to further our cooperation.
The Russian Interior Minister highlighted the importance of the issues and decisions to be made at the Baku meeting from the standpoint of fighting crime in the CIS together.
