Today, Azerbaijan has more than 70 diplomatic missions in the world, Spokesman for Azerbaijan`s Foreign Ministry Elman Abdullayev told APA. “Azerbaijan opened new diplomatic missions in Brazil, Australia and Vietnam in 2012-2013. Azerbaijan plans to open diplomatic missions in Chile and Uruguay in the near future.

Today, the main goal of Azerbaijani diplomacy is to decently represent our country in the world. While many people were unaware of the location of Azerbaijan2 0 years ago, now our country is playing an active role in the international arena, as well as within various international organizations. Azerbaijani diplomats play an important role in this process,” he said.

Elman Abdullayev noted that Azerbaijan would continue to expand the geography of its diplomatic missions: “Azerbaijan has the highest dynamics for opening new diplomatic missions in the region. Azerbaijan had totally 25-30 diplomatic missions 8-9 years ago, but now this figure is more than 70. We intend to continue working in this direction.”

The Spokesperson also said that the number of foreign diplomatic missions accredited in our country is increasing every year: "This is an indication of the interest in our country. Currently, there are more than 60 foreign diplomatic missions in Azerbaijan.”

Today, employees of diplomatic services are celebrating Professional Holiday in Azerbaijan. This holiday was constituted under the order of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev dated August 24, 2007.

The history of Azerbaijani diplomacy officially began on July 9, 1919. People`s Republic of Azerbaijan issued a temporary instruction on the Secretariat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on that day.

There were 16 foreign diplomatic missions in Baku in 1918-1920. Mammad Hasan Hajinski was the first Minister of Foreign Affairs and Alimardan bey Topchubashov (Ottoman-Turkey) the first Ambassador.

239 people worked in the diplomatic services of Azerbaijan People`s Republic. The Republic had diplomatic missions in these countries and cities till April 1920: Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Istanbul, Ukraine, Crimea, Kuban, Don and Irkutsk.

Currently, the Republic of Azerbaijan has diplomatic relations with 170 countries in the world.

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