Baku, April 12, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matviyenko.

Welcoming Valentina Matviyenko and her delegation, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said:

- Dear Valentina Ivanovna, dear guests.

Welcome to Azerbaijan! I am very delighted with your visit. I am glad that you are visiting Azerbaijan with such an impressive delegation. First of all, I would like to congratulate you personally on the anniversary which was celebrated recently. I sent you a congratulatory message and want to congratulate you personally again, wish you all the best and continued success in your work. Of course, we are very pleased that soon after the anniversary you are visiting our country. We attach great importance to the visit. I am confident that it will contribute to the cause of further strengthening the friendly relations between our countries. Our relations are multifaceted, cover almost all spheres of life and have good dynamics. We actively cooperate in the political sphere and enhance our economic potential. There are several roadmaps for cooperation in the economic, transport and energy sectors that are being successfully implemented, and it is not by chance that both parties view the relations between our countries as those between strategic partners.

Stressing that the humanitarian sphere is of particular importance for the development of bilateral relations, President Ilham Aliyev noted the role of the Baku Humanitarian Forum and said he was pleased with the close ties in the field of education, culture and science. The head of state said that joint activities in connection with the North-South corridor also played an important part in expanding economic cooperation. President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that inter-parliamentary cooperation contributes to the development of our relations. The head of state expressed his confidence that bilateral relations will continue to develop successfully.

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Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matviyenko said:

- Thank you very much, dear Mr. President. First of all, I want to sincerely thank you for finding the opportunity to receive our delegation, for your attention and support of inter-parliamentary cooperation. As always, in the land of your wonderful country we are treated with attention, hospitality and care. I am sure that all members of the delegation - many are visiting Azerbaijan for the first time - will remember this trip. First of all, I want to say that before my visit I met with Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. He asked me to convey his personal greetings and best wishes to you, and recalled your recent telephone conversation on 2 April. And I am gladly doing that.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you. Please communicate my best wishes and greetings to Vladimir Vladimirovich too.

Valentina Matviyenko: Thank you. I will certainly do that. Dear Ilham Heydarovich, I am very glad to meet with you personally. I always remember these meetings and cannot but express once again my delight with how Baku is developing. I have not visited Baku and Azerbaijan for five years. There are colossal changes. There are wonderful new buildings, unique architecture. You know, I think that if Heydar Aliyev was alive, he would be very proud of the changes that are taking place in Azerbaijan. Indeed, I have visited many places, many countries of the world, but such dynamic and meaningful development, such beauty is quite rare and can’t be found in many places. Our visit takes place at such a significant time - exactly a year ago, you won a convincing victory in the presidential election. The absolute majority of the people of Azerbaijan gave you strong support, supported your domestic and foreign policy course. This victory was well deserved and very convincing. You have already noted that Russian-Azerbaijani relations are developing dynamically in all areas. They have reached the level of strategic partnership. The foundation of this relationship and this course was laid by the highly esteemed Heydar Aliyevich. But, of course, the key role in the development of Russian-Azerbaijani relations is played by the leaders of our states, by the presidents of our countries. We know that there is a great interest in expanding cooperation with your country because you are stable, you have a stable political and social situation, and you have good dynamics of economic development.

Touching upon the development of relations between the two countries in the field of tourism, Valentina Matviyenko said:

- The fact that the tourist flow from Russia has significantly increased is the sign of a good atmosphere of our cooperation. Last year 800,000 Russians visited Azerbaijan, and I think that the number of Russians will grow every year.

In connection with the attitude to the Russian language in Azerbaijan, Valentina Matviyenko noted:

- Huge words of gratitude for your attitude to the Russian language, Russian culture, and for the fact that conditions have been created in Azerbaijan for the preservation of the Russian language.

Valentina Matviyenko noted the successful development of relations between the two countries in humanitarian, cultural, educational and information spheres, stressed the implementation of the student exchange program and touched upon the importance of conducting the Days of Russian Culture in Azerbaijan. Noting that the Heydar Aliyev Foundation led by First Vice President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva also contributes greatly to the development of humanitarian ties between the two countries, the guest said:

- We very much appreciate the contribution of First Vice President of Azerbaijan, esteemed Mehriban Aliyeva to the development of humanitarian cooperation.

Valentina Matviyenko also pointed to the role of the Baku Humanitarian Forum in expanding the dialogue between civilizations.

Speaking about the inter-parliamentary relations, she expressed her confidence that these ties will continue to develop successfully.

Then President Ilham Aliyev presented the “Dostlug” Order to the Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Valentina Matviyenko.

Valentina Matviyenko was awarded this Order by President Ilham Aliyev’s Order for her special contribution to the strengthening of cooperation and mutual relations between Azerbaijan and Russia.

Valentina Matvienko said that it was a great honor for her to be awarded the “Dostlug” Order of Azerbaijan and to receive it from the hands of President Ilham Aliyev. She noted that both herself and Russian parliamentarians will continue to make every effort to expand cooperation between the two countries.

The head of state hailed the contributions of Valentina Matviyenko to the development of Azerbaijani-Russian relations and wished her further successes in her activities.

Then a photo was taken.