Menu
Latest
Menu
Latest
Azerbaijan participated for the first time as a guest at the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in Mexico this week.

Azerbaijan participated for the first time as a guest at the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in Mexico this week.

21 February 2012

Azerbaijan was one of ten guest countries invited to participate in the meeting of G20 Foreign Ministers that took place in Mexico this week. Foreign Minister Elmar Mamadyarov addressed the meeting on Monday in a wide ranging speech that touched on issues as diverse as gender and global security. The informal gathering offered an opportunity for a lot of behind the scene discussions between the world's most senior diplomats.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davitoglu met German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, Argentine's Foreign Minister Hector Marcos Timerman and EU High Representative for External Affairs Catherine Ashton according to Turkish sources. Iran, Cyprus and Syria were high on the agenda, although it is also understood that the Argentinian Foreign Minister raised the issue of the dispute with Britain on the Falkland Islands during the meeting.

The meeting was a preparation for the G20 summit of Heads of State which will also be held in Mexico this year. President Calderon of Mexico addressed the meeting which was also attended by US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.

source: commonspace.eu

picture: Group photo of the G20 Foreign Ministers Meetring in mexico on 20 February 2012 (picture courtesy of the Mexican Foreign Ministry)

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Azerbaijan-Armenia Internet Transit Deal Marks New Step in Regional Connectivity
Trending

Azerbaijan-Armenia Internet Transit Deal Marks New Step in Regional Connectivity

23 June 2026
Azerbaijan and Armenia have signed an agreement allowing the mutual transit of international internet traffic, creating a direct telecommunications link between the two countries for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The deal, announced on 17 June by AzerTelecom and Telecom Armenia, is intended to improve route diversity and network resilience in the South Caucasus. The development follows a gradual process of normalisation of relations between Baku and Yerevan. Notably, Azerbaijan has repeatedly identified the restoration of transport and communication links as a key component of a future peace settlement. Since the initialling of a peace agreement during a summit in Washington in August 2025, the two sides have taken several important steps, including progress on border delimitation and the easing of certain transit restrictions. The telecommunications agreement is also significant because it was negotiated by private operators rather than government officials. Industry observers note that commercial infrastructure projects can create long-term economic ties and mutual dependencies that are more difficult to reverse than political declarations.

Popular

Editor's choice
Interview
Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov
Trending

Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

15 January 2026
Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host  persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community. He is also the first co-chair of the Action Committee for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue. Last September he made history by being the first Azerbaijani civil society activist to visit Armenia after the 44 day war, and the start of the peace process. Speaking about this visit Murad Muradov said: "My experience was largely positive. My negative expectations luckily didn’t play out. The discussions were respectful, the panel format bringing together experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey was particularly valuable during the NATO Rose-Roth Seminar in Yerevan, and media coverage, while varied in tone, remained largely constructive. Some media outlets though attempted to represent me as more of a government mouthpiece than an independent expert, which was totally misleading.  Overall, I see these initiatives as important steps in rebuilding trust and normalising professional engagement. The fact that soon a larger Azerbaijani civil society visits to Armenia followed, reinforces the sense that this process is moving in the right direction." (click the image to read the interview in full)
Murad Muradov
Lauri Nikulainen interviews Murad Muradov