Baku, March 8, AZERTAC

Following the official welcoming ceremony President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Emir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani have held an expanded meeting.

Addressing the meeting, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Your Excellency, distinguished guests!

I would like to welcome you to Azerbaijan. I am very happy to receive you in our country. We attach great importance to the visit of your delegation. I am sure that your visit will further strengthen the friendly and fraternal relations between our countries.

Today, members of our delegation will sign many documents which will create a good legal basis for close cooperation between our countries. Our political relations are perfect. We successfully cooperate in international organizations, in particular the United Nations where we always support each other, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. We thank you for supporting our initiatives in international organizations.

We need to raise the level of economic interaction to the level of political cooperation, and I think that there are many opportunities in this area. One of the documents to be signed today will specifically create a good basis for this. I am sure that the establishment of a joint commission will enhance economic and trade cooperation between our countries. We see good opportunities in the field of energy cooperation, tourism, agriculture, technology, transportation and investment. I believe that all these areas are attractive for cooperation.

Your country is known worldwide as a dynamic, economically stable and prosperous state. We need to build this economic bridge between our peoples. I believe that one of the most important goals for the near future should be the increase of trade, and there are good opportunities for that. At the same time, we are encouraged by the fact that a growing number of Qatari citizens are coming to Azerbaijan. As you know, a simplified visa regime is applied to your citizens at the present time, and the number of visitors is increasing. And this, of course, will create excellent opportunities for the relations between our peoples. There are direct flights. Your access to Azerbaijan has grown even easier, which, of course, will give an impetus to the development of tourism and even closer ties between our peoples. We are interested in building an even closer relationship between our countries.

Your Excellency, I am grateful to you for accepting my suggestion to visit Azerbaijan. Your visit will provide an additional opportunity for further development of our relations on the basis of mutual respect, trust, friendship and brotherhood. Once again - welcome to Azerbaijan!

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Emir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said:

- Your Excellency, my brother, Mr. Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev, thank you very much for this invitation.

It is a great honor for me to be visiting the beautiful country of Azerbaijan. I want to congratulate you, your ministers and the people of Azerbaijan for the efforts being made in this country.

Mashallah, every time we come here, we see tremendous changes. On behalf of our delegation, I would like to express my gratitude to you for welcoming us to Azerbaijan at such a high level. Your Excellency, we always feel at home in Baku and Azerbaijan.

Your Excellency, as you pointed out, our political relations are very strong. There is a mutual understanding at a high level between our countries. We cooperate in international organizations, the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and many other structures. It is important that mutual understanding and trust between us, praise be to Allah, have reached their current level.

Your Excellency, as you pointed out, we must further expand our relations, especially those in economy and trade. We hope that after today's agreements, things will go faster. We, for our part, are very committed to this relationship. Your Excellency, I will make sure that every effort is made to further strengthen these relations.

As you mentioned, the tourism sphere is also important for both countries. We are pleased that your beautiful country is visited by more Qatari citizens. We hope to see the same picture in Qatar. We must also cooperate in the field of culture. We have many common values in this field. Your Excellency, it is important that our people understand each other better.

You mentioned the energy sector. Both countries possess energy resources, and we need to invest in this area and work on this issue. I want to thank you for this invitation. Your Excellency, I am very delighted to be here.