Joint Statement Between the Government of the United States and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan for the 10th Annual Bilateral Security Dialogue

The Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan held the tenth annual bilateral security dialogue on July 9-10 in Washington DC. The U.S. delegation was led by Department of State Acting Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Stephen D. Mull and Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Bryza; the Azerbaijani delegation was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov.

The delegations included senior-level representatives with security-related responsibilities. Representatives from several bureaus within the Department of State, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Treasury attended. The Azerbaijani delegation included senior-level representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Security, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Emergency Situations, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Border Service, State Customs Committee, and the Special State Protection Service.

The Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan share a broad range of national security-related interests. Security does not rest on military means alone; democratization is essential for long-term security. The United States Government, committed to Azerbaijan's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, seeks continued progress in all three shared policy priorities: security cooperation, energy cooperation, and promoting democracy through political and economic reform.

We consulted and agreed on next steps on a broad array of national and regional security issues, including our counterterrorism cooperation, maritime and border security programs, nonproliferation concerns, missile defense, critical energy infrastructure protection, Azerbaijan's relations with NATO and related security sector reforms, and Azerbaijan's current chairmanship of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development GUAM.

The bilateral security dialogue is a results-oriented forum that seeks to intensify our bilateral security cooperation. We will use a range of implementation tools to follow up on the important topics discussed today.

The next meeting will take place in July, 2008.

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