Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 2 / Trend E. Tariverdiyeva /
A cooperation plan to help resolve existing conflicts in the South Caucasus should be developed on the platform of the EU Eastern Partnership Program, Konrad Adenauer Foundation representative Jens Paulus said today.
The program plays an important role in establishing relations between the EU and Azerbaijan, the expert said.
"All of countries included in this program are really striving for integration into the EU by carrying out reforms," he said. "The Eastern Partnership Program is a project that will help countries to strengthen the development of social markets and to raise the population's living standards.
Paulus made the statement in Baku during the "Azerbaijan - Eastern Partnership: Regional Challenges and New Opportunities" forum, which is being organized by the Azerbaijani Presidential Center for Strategic Studies.
According to Paulus, the Eastern Partnership Program is also a platform strengthening security and social protection.
The Eastern Partnership Program is a Polish-Swedish neighborhood policy initiative aimed at improving the EU's relations with six former Soviet countries - Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine. Under the project, the EU will allocate 600 million euro to these countries by 2013 to strengthen state institutions, control borders and assist o small companies. The program's founding summit was held on May 7, 2008 in Prague.
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation has operated for three years in the South Caucasus, which is of particular importance for Europe and, specifically, Azerbaijan, he said.
"Our foundation is aware of this region's strategic importance, and we hope that this conference will help to clearly define the issues of cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan," Paulus said.