Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, has met with Juana Castro Santamaria, Deputy Foreign Minister of Colombia, who is on a visit to Azerbaijan.
According to the Operative Information Center-OMM, Hikmet Hajiyev shared information about the meeting on his X social media account. The Presidential Assistant noted that he held productive discussions with Ms. Santamaria regarding the current state and future prospects of bilateral relations.
"The current level of political dialogue between our countries is promising. There is significant potential to expand cooperation in economic and trade, cultural and humanitarian, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges," Hajiyev stated. Emphasizing that both Azerbaijan and Colombia suffer from landmine contamination, he highlighted that they discussed opportunities for cooperation and the exchange of experience in the field of demining. He also expressed gratitude to the Colombian side for its support in promoting the Spanish language in Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan continues to face a severe landmine threat in its liberated territories following the 2020 44-day war, with the government prioritizing humanitarian demining as a prerequisite for the Great Return of internally displaced persons to the Garabagh region. Colombia, having dealt with extensive mine contamination due to decades of internal conflict, shares a similar humanitarian challenge, making the exchange of technical expertise and mine-action strategies a key pillar of the growing diplomatic partnership between Baku and Bogota.
