NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said that Azerbaijan is a very important country for NATO in terms of energy security. According to him, increased gas exports from Azerbaijan freed NATO members from Russian dependence. What are the plans of the Secretary-General, who stated that after Ukraine, the Caucasian countries are in danger of being invaded, what plans does he have for the region?

Speaking to Ednews on the subject, Peter Tase, the founder and director general of the Azerbaijan-US Economic and Education Council, the representative of İEPF in the US, said that Azerbaijan has become a more important partner for NATO after the Ukrainian war:

"The Republic of Azerbaijan has an avant-garde national security policy that has been a highly valued asset to the geopolitical shifts occurring in post-Cold War Europe. The top-notch team of Azerbaijan’s National Security and counterintelligence structures of Baku have always supported NATO’s military and political actions in Afghanistan.

The visit of the NATO Secretary General to Baku on March 17 (Sunday), is a historic visit by the Top representative of the world’s largest and most powerful defense-political alliance. Stoltenberg’s meeting with President Ilham Aliyev was a testimony of an exceptional partnership that has been forged since the 1990s when National Leader Heydar Aliyev demonstrated his fortitude and commitment to the alliance when he finalized the entry of Azerbaijan in the Partnership for Peace Programme in 1994.

Azerbaijan’s foreign policy leadership has been very active, engaging with NATO officials, at a time when Europe - now, more than ever - is encountered with growing geo-strategic obstacles and a painful economic stagnation; Baku harbors, maintains the main security shield for EU’s eastern flanks and is a valuable ally for Brussels’ aim to reach economic growth and defend EU nations from terrorist attacks and emboldening cybersecurity.

When talking about Azerbaijan today, most observers who have been there recently tend to walk away impressed by the country’s vigor, dynamic development, and its impeccable foreign policy execution - particularly Baku’s alliance with NATO - and the national agenda of moving away from oil and shifting towards knowledge economy and renewable energy".

Farid Akhund