Baku, January 28, AZERTAC

Following the ceremony of signing documents, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi have made press statements.

The President of Azerbaijan made the statement first.

Statement by President Ilham Aliyev

- Dear Mr. President.

Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Mr. President, first of all, I sincerely welcome you to Azerbaijan again. Welcome to Azerbaijan! I am sure that your visit will contribute a great deal to the development of Egyptian-Azerbaijani relations. Today, we discussed many issues both in a one-on-one meeting and at a meeting with the participation of delegations, and we came to a common position on future cooperation – this cooperation should be deepened and expanded. There are all the opportunities for this, and today's visit is further evidence of that.

We will continue to work together in international organizations and support each other in the future, just as we have been supporting each other in the international organizations we have participated in so far – whether it is the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement or the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Issues related to the UN have been discussed around the world for many years. Opinions are being exchanged about reforms in the UN. I stated in one of my speeches that there is a great need for these reforms. I believe that the composition of the Security Council should be expanded. One permanent seat should be given to a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation itself must nominate this candidate through consultations. Another permanent seat should be given to the Non-Aligned Movement and the country holding the position of chair of the Non-Aligned Movement should have this seat. I think it would be fair. Because almost 80 years have passed since World War II, the world has changed and these changes continue rapidly. Therefore, I believe that these reforms will serve to create a fairer and safer world.

Today, we also discussed regional security issues and, at the same time, exchanged views on ways of deepening security cooperation in the future. We have decided to strengthen our joint fight against international terrorism, which is very necessary. International terrorism is a great threat to the whole world, and it will be possible to successfully fight against this threat only as a result of joint efforts.

Today I informed our esteemed guest about the processes taking place in our region. The Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has ended. This conflict has already been resolved. Karabakh remains an integral part of Azerbaijan and will remain as such forever. Having already ended the occupation, we have come closer to peace. Peace has not yet been achieved. The peace treaty to be signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia will lead to the achievement of peace. We have made explicit proposals and, despite all the suffering and destruction, we still believe that a peace treaty must be signed. Otherwise, the dangers in our region may increase.

Azerbaijan ended the nearly 30 years of occupation by military and political means, restored its territorial integrity and implemented four UN resolutions. However, the UN itself should have implemented these resolutions. The need for UN Security Council reforms is based on this. Because we had been waiting for the implementation of these resolutions for almost 30 years, but we didn’t see it. Therefore, both double standards and discrimination prevailed there. By fighting this war, we ended the occupation and restored justice. Now we are building and creating a life new in the liberated lands. Seeing all the ruins, we see again what scourge we have saved Azerbaijan and the region from.

At the same time, we have extensively discussed commercial and economic issues. Last year, a meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission was held in Azerbaijan, and on the eve of the commission's next meeting, we must implement the agreements reached together with our distinguished guest today, so that concrete steps could be taken at the next meeting. Areas have also been identified – pharmaceuticals, industrial sectors, aluminum industry, energy, oil industry, including renewables. There are great opportunities here too.

Dear Mr. President, I can say that the reforms you have carried out have greatly strengthened the capabilities of the Egyptian state. Today, Egypt plays a stabilizing role in the region it is located in. We appreciate it very much and sincerely congratulate our friends on these achievements.

I am sure that the successful development of our bilateral relations will be very useful for our nations and states. At the same time, it will bring additional stability to our regions. Because no country can develop successfully without stability.

Many other projects have also been discussed. After this press conference today, over lunch, we will continue our business discussions.

Once again, I want to thank the honorable President for his visit to Azerbaijan. I wish the friendly and brotherly people of Egypt development and prosperity. Thank you.

x x x

Then, President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi made the statement.

Statement by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi

- Honorable Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Ladies and gentlemen.

First of all, I want to express my satisfaction to be visiting Azerbaijan. I am honored to be the first Egyptian President to visit Azerbaijan since the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Last year, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries. At the same time, I would like to specifically mention the great successes that your country has achieved under your leadership. We were fascinated to see this beauty created as a result of the efforts of the people and government of Azerbaijan. I wish your country continued development and progress.

I also want to express my deep gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for his warm welcome and hospitality, for the hospitality we have enjoyed from the first day we arrived here.

The negotiations between our delegations took place in a very nice and positive environment. I would like to strengthen our efforts to develop relations between our countries. We want to continue the political dialogue between our countries for the benefit of both peoples, and we are interested in the development of bilateral cooperation in various fields. Considering the religious and historical closeness of our peoples, we intend to further develop our relations in the economic, trade and cultural fields.

I should also say that during the negotiations, an agreement was reached on increasing the trade turnover between our two countries. Of course, all this can be developed against the background of the existing political will. We have also discussed the issues related to the implementation of the agreements reached at the sixth meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission and the issues to be put on the agenda of the next meeting of the commission. We emphasized the achievements in the field of pharmaceuticals in Egypt and once again stated that we are ready to meet the pharmaceutical needs of Azerbaijan using the existing infrastructure.

During the discussions, I once again mentioned the reforms implemented in the field of electricity production in Egypt and the infrastructure we have created. I stated that we are ready to share all our experience gained over the past nine years with the Azerbaijani side.

During the meetings, we talked about the measures taken in the direction of removing the existing obstacles in the way of foreign investors in Egypt, creating conditions for them and further facilitating legal procedures. Considering that Egypt plays the role of a gateway to the African continent, we emphasized the importance of the agreements signed in the field of free trade between our countries. At the same time, I specifically mentioned the existence of a direct air connection between Baku and Sharm el-Sheikh, and stated the importance of increasing the number of direct flights between the two countries, which would contribute to our cooperation in the fields of economy and trade.

During the talks with Mr. Ilham Aliyev, we discussed many regional and international issues of common interest. During the meeting, we also stated that it is important to continue the political dialogue all over the world and that it is not necessary to solve the issues by military force. The Russia-Ukraine crisis, which occurred on the heels of the global COVID-19 pandemic, dealt another blow to the international economy and trade, and had a very negative impact on food security, energy, shipping, tourism and pharmaceuticals.

I wish Mr. President Ilham Aliyev great success and the best of luck once again. I do hope that all these achievements gained as a result of his wise policy will be continued.

We support the development of relations between Azerbaijan and the League of Arab States and will continue to support it.

Finally, I wish the people of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Azerbaijan continued development and prosperity.

Thank you very much.