Norway and Azerbaijan - A Partnership for Europe

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Rector Seyidov, Deputy Minister Pashayev, professors and students,

It is a great honour and pleasure for me to be here in Baku – for the first time as Norwegian Foreign Minister – and to speak to scholars and students at the State University of Languages. And it was a particular joy for me – a surprise, I must say - to be greeted in fluent Norwegian by young Azerbaijanis. It made me feel truly welcome.

Norwegians have felt welcome in Baku for many centuries. Already in the Middle Ages the Vikings made their way to the Caspian shores, and contrary to popular belief, they mostly had peaceful intentions. The great Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl proposed the theory that the roots of the Scandinavians and our ancient gods were to be found in the very region of today’s Azerbaijan.

Whether true or not, the fact remains that there has been significant contact between our two peoples for centuries. Our long history of contact is an excellent basis for further cooperation and friendship. And this is why I am here.

I will make the case today that Norway and Azerbaijan should further deepen their cooperation and form a partnership. - A partnership for Europe, a partnership based on common interests, taking into account the characteristics of both our countries.

Azerbaijan is the bearer of an ancient culture and a rich heritage. It is, however, a young state – as it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 – and it is in the process of finding its place in the world. Norway too is a relatively young state – having gained independence as recently as in 1905. Azerbaijan, with a population of 8.5 million, and Norway, with just over half that number, are two relatively small nations – at least compared with some of our neighbours. We have experienced some of the challenges you are now faced with. Nation-building, searching for identity, making alliances. We can learn from each other.

I believe that the most important investment a country makes is in the education of its youth –the young people who are its future. In a few years time, the symbolic years of 1989 and 1991 will feel very remote to you.

Learning, knowledge, means everything. I believe it was your famous poet Nizami Gancavi who once said, “It is better to be a professional ‘carry man’ than an unprofessional tailor”.

Norway has oil and gas resources, but our greatest asset is our human capital. Its value lies in its creativity – that is in its inventiveness, curiosity, openness.

Our Ministry of Finance recently estimated the total value of our human capital – the Norwegian work force – to be almost 90 percent of our national wealth. The value of our remaining oil and gas, on the other hand, has been estimated to only 5 percent of our national wealth. Think about it.

Thus, education is the real key to long-term prosperity.

This is why I believe that the close cooperation between our two countries on education is so important. The collaboration between the University of Languages and Norwegian universities is a good example of this.

And there are other examples as well. The Khazar University and the State Oil Academy both cooperate with Norwegian counterparts. The Norwegian Foreign Service Institute and the Azerbaijani Diplomatic Academy are training young diplomats in our two countries.

These contacts and exchanges are very encouraging. They should, however, be developed even further. This is one area where we should forge an even stronger partnership.

Another area is the energy sector. Azerbaijan is of course an old petroleum province. Norway has a much shorter history as a petroleum producer, dating back only to the late 1960s.

For both our countries, the new security situation after the end of the Cold War has opened up new avenues of policy development and partnerships. We see this clearly in the High North, where oil tankers have now by far outnumbered military vessels. Our security concerns these days are thus more related to the fragile environment than to the military threat of a foreign invasion.

In the security sector – and I am now speaking of ‘security’ in the broad sense – there are some areas particularly well suited for cooperation between Norway and Azerbaijan.

Firstly, there is energy security. Norway will become the world’s second largest exporter of gas in 2008 and is already among the top five oil exporters. Together with Russia and Algeria we are the main providers of natural gas to Europe.

The importance of Azerbaijan for European energy security is bound to increase as your production increases. If one day energy resources from Central Asia are brought to Europe through Azerbaijan, your role will become even more important.

There are many issues we could discuss related to energy security – so this is clearly an area where Norway and Azerbaijan should continue to develop their partnership.

Secondly, there is the management of petroleum resources, and the question of transparency.

In order to ensure that both present and future generations will benefit from the petroleum revenues, we need to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of petroleum resources. This includes openness about the income generated, and openness about how it is spent.

In Norway, we were fortunate to have developed robust and open, democratic institutions before oil was discovered. New institutions for the petroleum age – like the Oil Fund and strong governmental institutions charged with control of safety and environmental standards – could build on firmly established democratic traditions.

This clearly is an area where our cooperation should be further developed. The creation of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan, SOFAZ, has been a good start. The fund will protect the economy against the distortions and inflation that would result from excessive public spending during a few years.

Your State Oil Fund has made a promising start. It was awarded a UN prize for excellent public management last year. - My congratulations. I am pleased that the contact between SOFAZ and Norwegian expertise is continuously being developed.

As to transparency, I would like to commend President Ilham Aliyev for ensuring that Azerbaijan was among the first countries to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, the EITI. The basic idea is simple. The payments of money from the international petroleum companies into the state coffers, as well as the total government revenues from oil and gas companies, are to be made public.

Azerbaijan is a regional leader in applying the EITI criteria. This praise goes not only to the authorities and the major petroleum companies, but also to civil society, which is playing an essential role as a watchdog in the EITI NGO coalition.

How can we now take the EITI further? There are those who warn against making EITI a tool for general administrative reform. Those warnings should be listened to.

It is clear to me, however, that once you subscribe to EITI, you also endorse its basic principles of transparency and political accountability. These principles should underlie all administrative reform, be it in Azerbaijan or elsewhere. This is another area where our two countries could strengthen their partnership and lead the way. I would welcome closer cooperation with Azerbaijan on these issues.

The third area where Norway and Azerbaijan need to forge a stronger partnership, is on climate change.

As energy producers, we have a special responsibility for the environment and for helping to prevent climate change. The dilemma facing us is clear. How do we reconcile our role as major energy producers with the need to tackle climate change?

We have set ourselves high goals: Norway is to be carbon neutral by 2030. In order to meet this challenge, we need more research and development on new and improved technology, such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).

Equally important, this requires human resources. We need to make sure that careers in research are attractive to students like you.

A fourth area is support for the United Nations and regional organisations – NATO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and others – which is a main pillar of Norway’s foreign policy. An international system that regulates the use of force and prevents the domination of the weak by the strong is always in Norway’s interest. – And so are structures that promote cooperation, dialogue – talks around a table – between the world’s nations as the main way of resolving conflict.

The United Nations enjoys unique legitimacy in this role, but it needs our support. We should cooperate in helping to strengthen the global role of the UN.

NATO has been one of the cornerstones of our foreign policy for nearly 60 years, and remains so today, in an era of changing political landscapes and expansion of NATO’s membership and role.

Norway supports a continued open-door policy on the part of NATO. The decision in Bucharest earlier this month to invite Croatia and Albania to join the Alliance – and Macedonia as soon as the issue of its name has been resolved – is in my view very important for future stability in the Balkans. And even closer to you: NATO stated in Bucharest that the future of Ukraine and Georgia is in the Alliance.

NATO’s partnerships are value-based. It is important both for prospective members and other partners to meet the expectations as regards democratic standards. This is essential. This is the point of departure for any further strengthening of the cooperation.

I would like to encourage Azerbaijan to make full use of the Partnership for Peace programme. Your country is already playing a valuable role in NATO operations. This testifies to your wish to become more closely integrated into Euro-Atlantic structures.

I would like to add a few more words on our good relations with Russia.

As you all know, the end of the Cold War created a historic opportunity to bridge the dividing lines that split Europe during fifty years of confrontation. Our common neighbour Russia is a challenging partner, but we are committed to close cooperation in order to meet the many common challenges in the High North, the many tasks we need solve together.

Norway’s policy towards Russia is cooperative, firm and consistent, and our relations are expanding. Although we differ on some matters, we cooperate successfully on a wide range of issues, such as energy, fisheries, environmental protection and education.

Russia remains our main partner in the High North. There is a wide range of cross-border people-to-people contacts. More than 100 000 people cross the border between Norway and Russia every year. Twenty years ago the number was less than 5 000.

We have open and frank discussions on issues of national interest to both Norway and Russia. And we are developing a strategic energy partnership in the High North. We also see growing cooperation in the security field, including through the NATO-Russia framework. At the same time we consult our Nordic neighbours and our allies in all questions of vital interest in the north. 

Unfortunately, the demise of the Soviet Union also unleashed new conflicts and confrontations on its former territory, including here in the Southern Caucasus. These conflicts remain unresolved to this day. They prevent this region from exploiting its full potential for development.

Here in Azerbaijan, the large numbers of people who fled from Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions still do not know when they will be able to return. I hope that moment will come soon. Norway will be ready to help them build a new existence in the areas they had to leave.

In the meantime, we continue to support solutions to the conflicts taking into account the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of Azerbaijan, as well as of the other two countries in the Southern Caucasus.

We must start thinking about a common future for the peoples of the region once the conflicts have been resolved. This is a challenge that the young generation in particular – I mean you – should rise to. I wholeheartedly encourage contact, dialogue and negotiations between all concerned parties.

In this context, I note the positive contributions of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM) and the Black Sea Economic Council (BCEC) to regional understanding and stability.

I would also like to emphasise that the OSCE and the Council of Europe are the custodians of the basic European values: human rights, pluralistic democracy and the rule of law. These institutions are democratic laboratories which develop the standards that define a modern democratic state.

After the end of the Cold War, these institutions have become truly pan-European. But the situation is far from satisfactory when it comes to the implementation of standards. We must work together to strengthen these institutions and to implement their standards and norms. – Because in doing so, we are promoting democracy in all member states.

My government – as previous governments – and the rest of the Norwegian society have learned to accept criticism that is at times raised against us. We choose to regard such criticism as constructive, put forward to help us to improve our society and institutions. Independent media are essential in building a vibrant and complex society – and democracy.

It is my hope that all states will take a similar approach, and focus on meeting their commitments as members of the OSCE and the Council of Europe, of which Azerbaijan became a member in 2001.

The presidential elections in October will be particularly important for Azerbaijan. I will follow them with keen interest. I sincerely hope that the elections will live up to OSCE standards and be conducted in an open, transparent manner.

Norway is pursuing an active European policy, contributing towards common European goals. The EU is now the main political and economic force shaping the future of our continent, and Norway – as a non-member – has established a good working relationship with the EU. We have close allies, neighbours and long-standing friends in the EU, as well as our most important economic partners.

Norway is closely linked to the EU through the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement which unites the 27 EU Member States and Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein in the internal market where we enjoy free movement of goods, persons, services and capital.

The agreement ensures that Norway takes part on an equal footing with EU members. This benefits our economy greatly. Norway is also part of the Schengen cooperation, aimed at securing a common border control regime.

Furthermore, Norway supports EU enlargement because it brings welfare and stability to new member states, and promotes democracy and peace in Europe as a whole. The European Neighbourhood Policy will, in our view, promote stability and economic development among the eastern neighbours of the EU. Dealing with the EU as a non-member is therefore an area where we have extensive experience.

And we can share this experience with Azerbaijan. I welcome your country’s decision to make the deepening of its relations with the EU one of its top priorities.

The EU’s emphasis on democratic government and good governance, administrative capacity-building and support for legislative and economic reforms is important and will bring Azerbaijan closer to the European mainstream.

These are areas we support and where we are cooperating with Azerbaijani partners. This will create opportunities for the Azerbaijani people, but also contribute to the overall process of European integration.

Dear friends,

Good relations between nations – like our two nations – consist of contacts between people – politicians, students, artists and journalists – and between schools, businesses and civil society organisations.

Today, official foreign policy strategies are increasingly supplemented – and challenged – by input from a whole range of public diplomacy players. Exchanges can lead to change, and new networks can create more workplaces.

I am confident that there is scope for further development of Norwegian-Azerbaijani cooperation, especially in the field of higher education. Higher education, openness, democratic standards and more open borders are vital for the free passage of ideas and impulses between countries that belong to the international community.

More frequent visits and closer contact will also lead to business activity and growth. Our bilateral relations are already well established in the economic area.

A growing number of non-governmental organisations dedicated to safeguarding democratic rights have also been established in Azerbaijan. Norway offers support to some of these NGOs and we will continue to do so.

The introduction of state aid for NGOs in Azerbaijan is a step I find very positive. In my view, based on my own experience, NGOs can contribute with a lot of knowledge, insight and useful input to a government.

Thus, it is important that your civil society grows independently, utilising its own resources. I am pleased to note the contacts between our organisations and yours. International NGO networks can also play a very useful role in assisting Azerbaijan in its integration into the Euro-Atlantic community.

In this context, freedom of expression is an essential value that bridges different cultures and languages, and geographical, political and religious divides.

And I will conclude my address with this point: freedom of expression is a fundamental building block of a vibrant and open society. I am convinced that a world free of discrimination, corruption, persecution and suppression cannot be envisaged without freedom of expression and of the media.

Why? – Firstly, because when independent media function well, politicians – like me – are held accountable. The media can set a spotlight on issues like intolerance and expose injustice and discrimination.

Secondly, because by telling the stories of struggle, suffering and courage of real people, the media can empower vulnerable and voiceless groups in society.

And thirdly, because the confrontation of ideas, even controversial ones, and critical public debate are always a sign of a strong democracy.

So the democratic role of the free media is to deepen our understanding, broaden our perspectives and provide us with the information we need to develop our own opinions.

Dear friends,

With the knowledge and experience that you gain here at your universities and schools – as well as the friends that you may keep for the rest of your lives – and through the exchange of thoughts and ideas with people elsewhere, you will be well equipped to take responsibility for you own future – and for the future of Azerbaijan. The choice of direction and allies is yours.

Let me conclude: courage, curiosity and legend brought Norway and Azerbaijan together hundreds of years ago. I am certain that academic exchange, trade, friendships and the challenges of our time – which we all share and must face together – will bring us even closer in the future.