Khankendi and Romania's Baia Mare to become sister cities
An agreement has been reached on establishing broad cooperation between Azerbaijan's Karabakh region and Romania's Maramures region.
On August 14, a delegation on an official visit to Romania, headed by the Special Representative of the President of Azerbaijan in the city of Khankendi and the Aghdara and Khojaly districts, Elchin Yusubov, met with the mayor of Baia Mare, the capital of Romania's Maramures county, Ioan Doru Dancus, 1news.az reports with reference to the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Romania.
The meeting discussed the establishment and development of ties between the cities of Baia Mare and Khankendi, the implementation of joint projects, the exchange of experience, and other topics of mutual interest.
The mayor of Baia Mare, Ioan Doru Dancus, proposed identifying specific areas for the development of ties with Azerbaijan, including with the Karabakh region, establishing partnerships with Azerbaijani companies, and assessing opportunities for mutual investment. He also expressed interest in cooperation with the Karabakh region in the cultural, humanitarian, and sports spheres.
The Special Representative of the President of Azerbaijan, Elchin Yusubov, thanked them for the invitation and spoke about the similarity of the city of Khankendi to Baia Mare in terms of geographical location, picturesque nature, and rich heritage. Emphasizing the leading role of Khankendi as the capital of Azerbaijan's Karabakh region, he noted that the city has a 270-year history, was under Armenian occupation for more than 30 years, and was liberated in September 2023 as a result of local anti-terror measures by the Azerbaijani army. In addition, Elchin Yusubov spoke about the large-scale construction, restoration, and infrastructure projects being implemented in Karabakh and the broad opportunities created in the region for foreign investors. "The large-scale projects being implemented in Karabakh, from the point of view of long-term strategy, are beneficial for all countries of the region, including European countries," he noted.
E. Yusubov also invited the Romanian side to pay an official visit to Azerbaijan, in particular to Karabakh.
At the meeting, the parties reached an agreement on signing a sister-city agreement between the cities of Baia Mare and Khankendi.
On August 14, the delegation headed by Elchin Yusubov met with the head of Romania's Maramures region, Gabriel-Valer Zetea.
The subject of discussion was the development of ties between Azerbaijan and Romania, in particular the establishment of broad cooperation between the Karabakh and Maramures regions in various fields.
During the meeting, the Azerbaijani side stated its openness to cooperation with the Maramures region and, in order to assess economic and investment opportunities, invited Gabriel-Valer Zetea to pay an official visit to Karabakh. As part of the visit, the holding of mutual days of the regions in Karabakh and Maramures, as well as the organization of a business forum with the participation of entrepreneurs from the two regions, were discussed.
The head of the Romanian region of Maramures, Gabriel-Valer Zetea, accepted the invitation, noting that the development of cooperation at the regional level contributes to strengthening ties between the two countries. He expressed interest in the participation of Azerbaijani investors in projects being implemented in the region he heads.
In turn, E. Yusubov emphasized the importance of developing Azerbaijan's cooperation with European countries, especially with Romania, which is a strategic partner. He assessed the liberation of Karabakh from more than 30 years of occupation under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev and the establishment of lasting peace and stability in the region as a historic achievement.
