NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska visited Azerbaijan on January 21–22, 2026, to discuss the strengthening of bilateral ties and regional security. During the visit, she held high-level meetings with Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Milli Majlis (National Assembly) Speaker Sahiba Gafarova, and Elchin Amirbayov, Representative of the President of Azerbaijan on Special Assignments.
According to the Operative Information Center-OMM, the Swedish Embassy reported that the discussions focused on the current state and future prospects of the Azerbaijan-NATO partnership. Key topics included the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process and NATO's role in supporting stability within the Black Sea region. Shekerinska praised the more than 30-year partnership, highlighting successful cooperation in political dialogue, military interoperability, and defense education. The visit was facilitated by the Slovak and Swedish embassies, which currently serve as NATO Contact Point Embassies in Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan's relationship with NATO dates back to 1992 when the country joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. Since joining the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program in 1994, Azerbaijan has been a reliable partner in various international peacekeeping missions. This long-standing cooperation continues to evolve through the Planning and Review Process (PARP) and the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), focusing on defense reforms and achieving interoperability with NATO standards to enhance regional security in the South Caucasus.
