Spain to open embassy in Baku

President Ilham Aliyev received a Spanish delegation headed by Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs Elena Salgado on Monday.

Salgado noted that she is the first minister of Span to visit Azerbaijan, saying her visit would play an important role for expanding bilateral ties. Spain is interested in developing relations with Azerbaijan in various fields, she added.

President Aliyev expressed hope that the visit would help expand relations between the two countries. He said the recent opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Spain will make a considerable contribution to this.

In a meeting with Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov on the same day, Salgado said the Spanish government has passed a decision to open an embassy in Azerbaijan. She noted that her country will chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe next year, emphasizing the importance of cooperation between the two countries in this respect.

“As a country chairing the OSCE, we will back its efforts [through the Minsk Group brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict] and strive for a solution strictly by diplomatic means,” the Spanish minister added.*