Azerbaijan's Defense Minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov attended the meeting of NATO Ministers of Defense in the format of the North Atlantic Council’s Resolute Support Mission in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on June 29 in Belgium.

Axar.az reports citing APA news agency.

The meeting focused on discussions on the security situation in Afghanistan, the future of the Resolute Support Mission, and the development of the Afghan Defense and Security Forces. Along with the defense ministers of the countries contributing the Resolute Support Mission, Afghanistan’s defense minister, High Representative of the European Union and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General also attended the meeting.

During the meeting, Hasanov met with NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Eilene Gottemoeller.

The sides exchanged views on Azerbaijan-NATO relations, mutually beneficial cooperation with the Alliance in the defense area and Azerbaijan's contribution to NATO’s Resolute Support Mission. During the meeting, the Defense Minister informed the NATO Deputy Secretary General about the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Within the framework of the visit, Hasanov held a working meeting with the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Turkey, Fikri Işık. The sides discussed issues of bilateral cooperation and regional security. They also exchanged views on future contributions to the Mission.

The Defense Minister also held a courtesy meeting with the newly appointed Defense Minister of the Republic of Macedonia, Radmila Šekerinska.

It is worth noting that Azerbaijan has a 94-member peacekeeping force participating in the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan. At the same time, the Republic of Azerbaijan contributes to the NATO mission with multimodal transit and training, as well as with financial support to the Afghan National Army Trust Fund.