London and Baku deepen defence cooperation

Britain and Azerbaijan are moving to deepen bilateral cooperation in the defence sector, Britain’s defence minister Vernon Coaker said.

Coaker said talks were held in London with an Azerbaijani delegation, following his visit to Azerbaijan in December last year.

He said the discussions included Azerbaijan’s defence industry minister Vugar Mustafayev, deputy defence minister Agil Gurbanov and presidential aide Khalid Ahadov.

Responding to the meeting, Britain’s ambassador to Baku Fergus Auld said the two countries were entering a new phase of strategic engagement. He described Azerbaijan as a valued defence and security partner and said the visit marked the highest-level Azerbaijani defence delegation to the UK in a decade.