OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS

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

Your Excellency,

I cordially congratulate you and the people of your country on the occasion of the national day of the Republic of Azerbaijan – the Republic Day.

It is no coincidence that your country, which granted women the right to vote decades before some Western countries, chose the anniversary of the proclamation of the first democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world as its National Day. The traditions of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which was founded in 1918, deserve respect all over the world. Unfortunately, unlike Czechoslovakia, which was built on the ruins of the old world the same year, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic did not manage to preserve its independence amid the harsh realities of the then world.

My sincere wish for you and all your compatriots is that in the third decade of the 21st century your country shall live - as a free, independent and prosperous state - in peace with all its neighbors and develop in line with the hopes and aspirations of those who founded the independence of the modern Azerbaijan.

I avail myself of this opportunity to assure you that I highly appreciate the current state of relations between the Czech Republic and Azerbaijan. I do hope that these relations will continue developing. I attach great importance to the constant deepening and development of ties between our countries.

Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Milos Zeman

President of the Czech Republic