# Azerbaijan–Romania relations

Foreign relations exist between Azerbaijan and Romania. The countries have established embassies in their respective capitals. The Azeri president visited Romania in October 2004 and the two nations have signed over fifty separate agreements to date. Azerbaijan has an embassy in Bucharest. Romania has an embassy in Baku. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe.

## History

Romania officially recognized Azerbaijan's independence on December 11, 1991. The Embassy of Romania in Azerbaijan was opened on November 3, 1998, and Embassy of Azerbaijan in Romania on May 19, 2001. Daniel Cristian Ciobanu is an ambassador of Romania in Azerbaijan and Farid Abdinbayov is an ambassador of Azerbaijan in Romania appointed by decree of Azerbaijani president dated June 27, 2013.
The two countries established diplomatic relations on June 19, 1992. While the two share mutual areas in multiple areas, the main focus has been on trade and energy links, with trade delegations and frequent talks regarding the further development of such ties and an increase in bilateral trade since trade originating from Azerbaijan approximately five times the quantity ($161 million) of those from Romania ($31.83 million).
As an existing member, Romania has been a strong advocate of Azerbaijan's future membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), pointing out the strategic importance of the country for trade and shipping, particularly with a view towards Afghanistan.

## Agreements

In 2000, Azerbaijan and Romania signed an agreement on bilateral defence cooperation, followed by a similar agreement on information sharing in 2004. In December 2007, a Romanian energy delegation visited Azerbaijan. The two parties discussed a gas pipeline and emphasised the importance of the two nations' cooperation in order to provide "energy security in Europe".

## State visits

In 2004, the Azeri president made a two-day state visit to Romania, during which time, the two leaders held private meetings on a range of issues, including, inter alia, the relationship between the two countries and opportunities for cooperation on counter- terrorism. Eleven separate were signed as a result of these meetings. Also during this visit, the president officially opened a new embassy building, emphasising the role of the embassy in the continuation and development of relations between the nations.

### High-level mutual visits
#### Presidents

| | Date | Reason | Presidents |
| 1 | 2 July 1995 | official visit | President of Azerbaijan H. Aliyev |
| 2 | March 1996 | official visit | President of Romania I. Iliescu |
| 3 | 29 June – 1 July 1998 | official visit | President of Romania E. Constantinescu |
| 4 | 7 – 8 September 1998 | working visit for International Conference on restoration of historical silk route | President of Romania E. Constantinescu |
| 5 | 11-12 October 2004 | official visit | President of Azerbaijan I. Aliyev |
| 6 | 5 June 2006 | working visit for “Black Sea Forum | President of Azerbaijan I. Aliyev |
| 7 | 11-12 October 2006 | official visit | President of Romania T. Băsescu |
| 8 | 19 June 2007 | working visit for GUAM Summit | President of Romania T. Băsescu |
| 9 | 24-25 September 2007 | working visit for opening of Tey Park – Heydar Aliyev Alley and Representation of Heydar Aliyev Foundation in Romania | President of Azerbaijan I. Aliyev |
| 10 | 2-4 April 2008 | working visit for NATO Bucharest Summit | President of Azerbaijan I. Aliyev |
| 11 | 21 August 2008 | working visit | President of Romania T. Băsescu |
| 12 | 28-29 September 2009 | official visit | President of Azerbaijan I. Aliyev |
| 13 | 13-14 September 2010 | working visit for AGRI Summit | President of Romania T. Băsescu |
| 14 | 18-19 April 2011 | official visit | President of Romania, T. Băsescu |

#### Prime Ministers

| | Date | Reason | Ministers |
| 1 | 26-27 June 2013 | official visit | Prime Minister of Romania, Mr. Victor Ponta |

#### Chairmen of Parliament

| Date | Reason | |
| 18-20 December 2006 | official visit | Chairman of Azerbaijani Parliament Ogtay Asadoy visited to Romania, and he met with President T. Băsescu and other top officials of Romanian parliament. |
| 18-20 June 2008 | visit on the occasion of 90th anniversary of the establishment of Parliament of Azerbaijan | a parliamentary delegation led by speaker of the senate Nicolae Vacaroiu |
| 13-16 March 2013 | official visit | Chairman of Chamber of Deputies, Valeriu Zgonea |

## Documents
### Political sphere

| | Documents | Date | Location |
| 1 | Protocol on cooperation between Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania | 27 April 1995 | Baku |
| 2 | Memorandum of Intent between the Government of Azerbaijan and the Government of Romania | 27 April 1995 | Baku |
| 3 | Declaration on establishment of friendship relations and partnership between Azerbaijan and Romania | 2 July 1995 | Bucharest |
| 4 | Agreement on friendship relations and cooperation between the Azerbaijan and Romania | 27 March 1996 | Baku |
| 5 | Declaration on development of friendship relations and partnership between Azerbaijan and Romania | 30 June 1998 | Bucharest |
| 6 | Declaration on partnership between Azerbaijan and Romania | 29 October 2002 | Baku |
| 7 | Joint Declaration of President of Azerbaijan and President of Romania | 2004 and 2006 | Baku and Bucharest |
| 8 | Declaration on Agreement of establishing strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Romania | 28 September 2009 | Bucharest |
| 9 | Joint Action Plan on the realization of strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Romania | 18 April 2011 | Baku |
| 10 | Protocol of Cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania | 18 April 2011 | Baku |

## Resident diplomatic missions

* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Bucharest.
* Romania has an embassy in Baku.