Baku, August 10, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has hosted an official reception in honor of President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon.

The heads of state addressed the reception.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said:

- Dear Emomali Sharipovich,

Distinguished guests,

Dear friends!

I would like to welcome all our dear guests to Azerbaijan once again. It is an important day in the history of relations between our countries. The official visit of the President of Tajikistan to Azerbaijan is an important stage in the development of our relations. The visit has been very successful. We have held comprehensive talks today, exchanged views on many issues on the agenda of our bilateral relations, and once again confirmed our countries' commitment to strengthening and expanding cooperation and identifying important ways to strengthen trade and economic relations. You all attended the signing ceremony. The list of these documents itself characterizes the level of our relationship. The documents signed today cover many spheres of activity. I am sure that all of them will be fulfilled on time, thereby creating an even more solid foundation for our relations.

The distinguished President of Tajikistan and I signed a joint statement today. It is a very important political document which reflects our will, our interest in interaction, our common approach to issues related to the international situation, as well as Azerbaijan's support for the major initiatives Tajikistan has put forward in the UN as part of its water resources management policy. In this statement, we essentially defined the key ways of developing our relations. I am very glad that such a statement will serve as a basis for our future activities.

We spent a lot of time today to discuss issues related to industrial cooperation. The decisions we have made will produce a very good result and in a short time, I am sure. The result will be aimed at creating new industries, production facilities, industrial cooperation, and hundreds of new jobs. These decisions will create an entirely new system of cooperation between our industrial enterprises and provide even more work for the transport infrastructure of our countries. In other words, I am sure that the results of the visit will be very effective, and we will feel it in specific figures in the near future.

The esteemed President of Tajikistan and I have Today exchanged views on the level of trade, which, of course, we can’t be pleased with. But the measures we have taken and the documents signed will allow us the opportunity to increase the turnover between our countries several times in a short time.

Today we are reaching important decisions on integration of our transport infrastructure, cooperation in industrial production and access to foreign markets. As you may know, Azerbaijan has recently created a diverse system of transport infrastructure. We have invested heavily and created new transport routes. The shortest route between Asia and Europe today lies through Azerbaijan. Investments have also been made in the construction of highways, new airports and a major trade seaport in the Caspian. We are making all this available for our friends, for our partners in Central Asia, and, of course, we discussed these issues with the President of Tajikistan in detail today.

The visit underscores the commitment of our countries to deepening cooperation and opens up prospects in trade and economic spheres. We have also touched upon the issue of investments, and a mission to study investment issues will be sent to Tajikistan in the near future. We have also discussed issues related to the development of agriculture and tourism. In other words, it is possible to say that not too many areas were out of our attention. All this testifies to the political determination of our states to strengthen cooperation.

We are keenly following the successful development of Tajikistan under the leadership of Emomali Sharipovich Rahmon. Tajikistan today is a country with a stable public and political situation. This is the most important factor of development, especially when we see stability that is disrupted in Central Asia, in our region and in the Middle East, there is bloodshed, new conflicts are flaring up and old conflicts remain unresolved. Of course, the fact that there are peace, civil accord, public and political stability in Tajikistan is the key to the sustainable development of your country. Of course, the main role in this belongs to the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Sharipovich Rahmon, who played a huge role in preventing civil war at the early stages of the establishment of Tajikistan as an independent state, in creating an atmosphere of peace, prosperity and development in your country. Of course, we are seeing the results of that in the socioeconomic development of Tajikistan. We rejoice in your successes and, of course, are sure that the President's course towards socioeconomic development and enhancement of the role and significance of Tajikistan in global and regional affairs will be successfully continued. And we as your friends will observe and rejoice in your successes and, for your part, make effort to ensure that both Azerbaijan and Tajikistan continue to develop successfully and safely.