Nation

AZERI-UKRAINIAN DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS TURN 10

Ukrainian ambassador in Baku Boris Alexenko held a news conference Tuesday on the tenth anniversary of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and the Ukraine this year.

He said bilateral relations have reached the level of strategic partnership, as the two countries managed to establish a firm legal base for cooperation and sign 76 intergovernmental documents.

According to him, Azerbaijan and the Ukraine are cooperating in international organizations and regional economic projects. The diplomat underlined effective interaction as part of the GUUAM and Traceca, transportation of Caspian oil to the Ukraine, etc.

B. Alexenko underscored the contributions of the Presidents of the two nations to the expansion of bilateral contacts. "The visits of the Presidents and treaties, especially on friendship, cooperation and partnership, have a special role to play", he said.

Hand for conflict solution

The Ukraine is offering assistance in the solution to the Garabagh conflict, as it is ready to host negotiations and join peace making forces if the UN and the parties agree to establish them, Ukrainian ambassador Boris Alexenko was quoted by journalists as saying.

The diplomat said his country backs Azerbaijan in the resolution of the Garabagh conflict. "I hope for a fair and civilized solution to the conflict within the framework of international norms this year", he said.

INTELLECTUALS FOR NATIONAL SURNAMES

A roundtable was held at the Ideal press club Friday on the initiative of the Turkish Center of Researches. It was dedicated to nationalization of surnames and attended by writers Abbas Abdulla, Kamil Vali Narimanoglu, poet Seyran Sakhavat and other men of literature.

Speakers underscored the role of surnames in shaping personality and said the issue should be carefully approached at a time when national passports and identification cards are being handed out. The authorities should tackle the problem, creating a mechanism to enforce the 1992 Law on Surnames and sponsor the drive for national surnames, the participants stressed.

MAYOR MEETS RURAL PEOPLE

Baku Mayor Hajibala Abutalibov held a meeting with the representatives of Sabunchu district of Baku in Bakikhanov settlement Wednesday. The Mayor said a program for social and economic development of Baku villages was being prepared and would be submitted for the President's signature before February 20.

The program entails repair of rural roads, water, electricity and gas supplies and income generation. H. Abutalibov said the law on Baku's status, which will be passed in the coming two months, will enable the city authorities to better tackle the problems.

BAKU's CHIEF VET BANS TINNED MEAT

Baku's chief veterinarian Fuad Gulubayov has told AssA-Irada that he issued a resolution to ban home-made bottled vegetables and canned meat. Police are already raiding streets and markets, asking for hygienic certificates for canned products.

Veterinarian laboratories are toughening grip over the observance of sanitary and hygienic norms.

The measures followed confirmed poisoning reports from bottled cucumbers of 10 people in Nakhchivan, two of whom died.

ECOLOGY MINISTRY APPROVES PHASE-1 ESIA

The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources has approved the draft Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of Phase-1 of the full field development of the Azeri, Chirag and Gunashli presented by bp.

Phase-1 entails constructing 2 new offshore platforms, laying a pipe stretching to the shore and expanding the Sangachal Terminal.

DATABASE FOR INTELLECTUAL RESOURCES SET UP

The management of the For Azerbaijan forum has decided to set up a database on national and intellectual resources in Azerbaijan. Heading the project is chairman of the Eurasian Strategic Cooperation Foundation Rashad Rzaguliyev.

The project is aimed at establishing a golden fund of national intellectual resources in economics, science, culture, health, etc. both in and outside Azerbaijan.