Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev completed his visit to Belgium, during which negotiations with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen were central.

After the talks President Aliyev has stated that today he informed the Secretary General that Azerbaijan was seriously considering the question of the contribution to the trust fund of the national army of Afghanistan.

"In the future we may consider the issue of continuation of this financial contribution. At the same time we organize training courses for Afghan diplomats in our Diplomatic Academy and the Border Guard Academy. We also work and are ready to expand our cooperation in preparation of engineers and other humanitarian issues," he claimed.

In turn, Rasmussen, recalling that before the end of 2014 NATO will gradually transfer primary responsibility for the security to the Afghan security forces, stated that he was very glad that the Azerbaijani president announced that his country would make a financial contribution to the formation of the Afghan security forces.

"It is very important for them, as after we leave Afghanistan, we must be sure that the security forces of this country are able to take full responsibility. To do this they need the money. We should finance them. I warmly welcome the statement made today. I also appreciate the contribution that the Azerbaijani side brings in humanitarian operations. In short, Azerbaijan plays an important role beyond its borders, in Afghanistan," Rasmussen said.

Azerbaijan has been in Afghanistan since the start of the NATO operation in this country.

16.02.2012 09:10