Spain expects the new EU-Azerbaijan partnership agreement to be concluded in the short term, Charge d'affaires ad interim of Spanish embassy in Baku Ignacio Sanchez Taboada told Trend.

"Trade is nowadays an integrated policy. It is the EU that negotiates trade agreements on behalf of all Member States. So the government of Spain has great expectations on the conclusion of the new agreement between Azerbaijan and the EU, an agreement with a relevant chapter for liberalizing trade between Azerbaijan and EU Member States, including Spain. And yet we really expect this agreement to be concluded in the short term, after two years of fruitful negotiations,” he said.

The European Council adopted a mandate for the European Commission and the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy to negotiate, on behalf of the EU and its member states, a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan in November 2016.

The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today.

The agreement will follow the principles endorsed in the 2015 review of the European Neighborhood Policy and offer a renewed basis for political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan.

Currently, bilateral relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are regulated on the basis of an agreement on partnership and cooperation that was signed in 1996 and entered into force in 1999.