Bob Blackman: Britain and Azerbaijan have much in common

Real friendship is sharing the same values of peace and development, and Britain and Azerbaijan both have a great deal in common in terms of national aspirations, British MP Bob Blackman wrote in his article posted on the PoliticsHome website, Report informs.

“The British have been closely tied into Azerbaijan at various points of the nation’s history, dating back to 1918 when the British Empire briefly came to the country,” reads the article. “In 1994, the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) allowed British Petroleum (BP) access to oil reserves in the Caspian Sea, and the company remains a strong partner for the nation, funding numerous educational and business initiatives locally. At the root of economic cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom lies the energy industry. The UK is now the largest foreign investor in the country and BP actively participates in the field exploration of oil and natural gas in projects such as Shah Deniz-2.”

“Our respective governments must schedule a continuation of the discussion on our shared values of respect for diversity, multiculturalism, and equality, with Azerbaijan ensuring synagogues and other places of worship are freely open around the clock in line with the ‘Respect Agenda for Minorities’,” said the article.

“It is my belief that real friendship is sharing the same values of peace and development, and Britain and Azerbaijan both have a great deal in common in terms of national aspirations that much is clear,” the MP noted.

“I very much hope that our two countries will enter a period of a further closer partnership between our respective governments, most especially in the fields of education, with large numbers of Azerbaijani youth already traveling to the UK to study at top universities, and with international trade on the increase, these discussions are now more important than ever,” reads the article.

“I recently took part in an election observation mission during the latest election and the what stood out from my observations was that whilst Azerbaijan is a very young democracy that only gained its independence in 1991, people were focused and passionate at the polling stations,” the MP said.

“A topic of great concern and interest in the United Kingdom at the time of elections and one that Britain looks at when promoting its values of democracy abroad is that of transparency and of voter fraud,” the author added. “During my recent visit, I was particularly surprised by the method by which Azerbaijan has chosen to deal with the issue. I was fascinated to learn that once a vote has been cast, the individual is then marked with invisible ink so that if they try to vote again, they can be identified as having already voted. The United Kingdom could take note of this policy and certainly look at discussing developing and implementing its similar policy.”