AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE OF THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA AND THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN CONCERNING CO-OPERATION IN THE DEFENCE AREA

The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia and the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Azerbaijan, hereinafter referred to as "the Parties",

Recognizing the Agreement among the States Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty and the Other States Participating in the Partnership for Peace Regarding the Status of their Forces (NATO/PfP SOFA) done in Brussels 19^th of June 1995, with the Additional Protocol to the Agreement among the States Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty and the Other States Participating in the Partnership for Peace Regarding the Status of their Forces, done in Brussels 19^th of December 1997;

guided by the wish to strengthen mutual relations between the Ministries of Defence in the letter and spirit of the Charter of the UN;

keeping in mind the development of an atmosphere of mutual confidence by cooperation of defence ministries of both countries and their armed forces;

wishing to set forth the legal and practical framework arrangements for the implementation of bilateral co-operation activities in the defence area;

have reached the following understanding:

Article 1. Purpose

The purpose of this Agreement is to provide an overall and practical framework for co-operation in the defence area between the Parties, including the implementation of military co-operation programmes adopted by the Parties.

Article 2. Areas of Co-operation

2.1. Co-operation between Parties covers following areas:

- exchange of experience on participation in the activities conducted within the framework of PFP and NATO;

- exchange of experience on the issues related to the formation and functioning of multinational military units;

- democratic control of armed forces;

- defence policy and strategy;

- defence planning and budgeting;

- command, control and communications;

- international peace support and humanitarian operations;

- environmental issues and contamination control;

- civil emergency planning and civil-military cooperation;

- logistics;

- exchange of experience in the area of military development, military reform and Armed Forces management;

- military-technical, military-scientific and military-legal;

- military education and re-training of personnel;

- other areas which are considered to be mutual interest.

2.2. The Parties may conclude separate agreements for realization of special cooperation programmes in above-mentioned areas.

Article 3. Co-operation forms

Cooperation between the Parties shall be carried out in the following forms:

- official visits and working meetings;

- exchange of experience and consultations;

- participation in training projects, advance training courses;

- joint participation in military exercises;

- participation in conferences and seminars;

- exchange of information of mutual interest.

Article 4. Planning and conduct

4.1. The Parties will exchange proposals by October 15 of each year to include them into the annual bilateral plan of cooperation in the defence area on the basis of this Agreement. After coordination, the authorized representatives of the Parties will sign the plan for the next year by December 1 of each year.

4.2. Each Party will appoint a point of contact for activities foreseen in the annual plan of co-operation concluded within the auspices of this Agreement.

Article 5. Financial arrangements

5.1. The Visiting Party covers the travel expenses to and from the territory of the Hosting Party's state, as well as the travel allowances and the cost of insurance.

5.2. The Hosting Party covers the travel, accommodation and meals expenses within the territory of its state.

5.3. The Hosting Party settles costs of emergency medical and dental care services. Costs of other medical and dental care services will be settled by the Visiting Party.

This general principle of reciprocity shall not be applicable to groups consisting of more than ten members including the support personnel (e.g. drivers, interpreters etc.). Funding procedures applicable to these groups shall be established on a case by case basis by mutual agreement between the Parties.

Article 6. Jurisdiction and claims

6.1. The Parties will exercise criminal and disciplinary jurisdiction over their own personnel in accordance with the provisions of NATO/PfP SOFA.

6.2. Claims will be handled in accordance with the provisions of NATO/PfP SOFA.

6.3. The Parties will exchange information through the points of contact referred to in Article 4, to whom claims are to be for­warded.

Article 7. Exchange of information

7.1. The exchange of information connected with the implementation of this Agreement will be conducted through diplomatic channels or directly between the Parties.

7.2. The Parties will make all necessary steps in order to protect classified information obtained within the framework of the co-operation according to this Agreement against unauthorised disclosure. Disclosure of such information shall be possible only with permission of the originating Party.

Article 8. Entry into force, duration, withdraw, amendments, settlement of disputes

8.1. This Agreement shall enter into force on the date of receiving via diplomatic channels the last written notification, about the fulfilment of the internal procedures required for its entry into force.

8.2. This Agreement is concluded for a 5 (five) years period, and shall be extended automatically for the next 5 (five) years period unless either Party informs the other Party in writing of its desire to withdraw from this Agreement 6 (six) month before the expire date of the Agreement.

8.3. Amendments to this Agreement shall be made upon mutual consent of the Parties arranged by separate protocols, which will be an integral part of this Agreement. These protocols shall enter into force in accordance with the procedures specified in paragraph 8.1. of this Agreement.

8.4. Any dispute regarding the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be resolved by bilateral consultation and negotiation between the Parties solely.

Done in Rīga on 15 August, 2005 in two originals, both in the Latvian, Azerbaijani, and English languages, and all texts being authentic. In case of divergent interpretations of the texts, the English text shall prevail.