Baku, February 27, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has hosted an official reception in honor of President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili, who is on an official visit in Azerbaijan.

The heads of state made speeches at the event.

Welcoming the President of Georgia, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said:

- Dear Madam President.

Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen.

First of all, Madam President, I would like to once again warmly welcome you and the Georgian delegation you are leading to Azerbaijan. You are welcome!

For centuries, Azerbaijani and Georgian peoples have lived in an atmosphere of friendship and good neighborliness. After our countries had gained independence, the relations between us acquired the nature of strategic partnership in line with the will of the two peoples. The political, economic and humanitarian relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia are at the highest level. The fact that Mrs Salome Zourabichvili is paying one of her first official visits after being elected President of Georgia to Azerbaijan demonstrates the high level of relations between our countries.

Noting the successful development of bilateral and multilateral cooperation between the two countries, President Ilham Aliyev stressed that good results had also been achieved in the economic sphere. President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Azerbaijan is one of the main trading partners of Georgia and one of the key investors in Georgia. Azerbaijani companies are among the largest taxpayers into the state budget of Georgia. The large-scale energy projects we have implemented - the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Supsa oil pipelines, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline - are very important events in terms of diversifying the transportation of our energy resources and creating a modern infrastructure for this. The large-scale transnational Southern Gas Corridor project being implemented today is of great importance for our countries. Three of the four component of this successfully ongoing project - Shah Deniz-2, the South Caucasus gas pipeline and TANAP - have already been completed. Of course, energy cooperation projects play a very important part in our relations and in other areas.

I want to highlight our cooperation in the transport sector. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway we opened in 2017 is of historic significance. This railway connects continents and significantly expands the transit potential of Azerbaijan and Georgia. Today, there is already an increase in the volume of cargo transported along the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.

Noting that the two countries closely cooperate in international organizations, President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that Azerbaijan and Georgia always support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of each other. President Ilham Aliyev said:

- The ongoing aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan, its military occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of our country and seven districts adjacent to it pose a serious threat to regional peace and security. The numerous decisions and resolutions adopted in connection with the conflict by the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the OSCE, NATO, the Council of Europe and other international organizations express resolute support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan and the need for resolving the conflict on the basis of these principles. The “Partnership Priorities” document which was initialed between Azerbaijan and the European Union last year also expresses support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty of Azerbaijan and the inviolability of its borders.

Stressing that close cooperation between the two countries would continue to develop successfully, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Today there are good opportunities and prospects for the development of bilateral cooperation between our countries in other areas as well - in the fields of tourism, agriculture, information and communication technologies, science, education, culture.

Dear Madam President, let me welcome you to Azerbaijan once again, wish you good health, every success in your activities, and prosperity and well-being to your country and people.