OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS

His Excellency Mr Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Mr President,

As our countries continue to struggle with COVID-19 and reduce its negative consequences for the life and well-being of our citizens, I wish you and the people of Azerbaijan happiness and prosperity on the occasion of your national holiday – the Republic Day.

I am very pleased with the strengthening of our dialogue on all topics, in particular global issues. The pandemic has really reminded us of the need to work together in order to find a common answer to the questions of health, social sphere, economy and security. Mr President, from this point of view, the contribution you are making as chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement to the development of specific and innovative initiatives for the benefit of the people is highly commendable.

The closeness of our relations is manifested in the quantity and quality of projects jointly implemented in the economic, cultural and educational spheres. The growing success of the French-Azerbaijan University (UFAZ), which has been thanks to the First Vice President’s high attention and care is, of course, a clear example of this.

Mr President, please allow me, on behalf of France as co-chair of the Minsk Group, to support the call of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to put an end to the “epidemic of war”. In this regard, you can count on France’s commitment to work decisively and impartially for a just and sustainable negotiated settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Mr President, please accept the assurances of my highest consideration.

Sincerely,

Emmanuel Macron

President of the French Republic