REMARKS BY PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA ROH MOO-HYUN
First Lady Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva!
Dear guests!
Let me express my deep gratitude to Your Excellency and Mrs. Aliyeva for the hospitality shown here to me and my delegation. I am really pleased with being the first President of the Republic of Korea to visit Azerbaijan.
Even though I came to your country just yesterday, I had time to realize why the world pays so much attention to Azerbaijan. Wherever I went and whatever I was acquainted with, I witnessed development in your country. Today, I toured the Sangachal oil terminal. It seemed to look like a symbol of Azerbaijan’s power opening to the world.
Last year, Azerbaijan had the impressing growth of 26 percent. The country has reached substantial progress not only in oil sector but also in textile, construction and electronics industries, as well as in the field of tourism. The President Ilham Aliyev’s plan to double GDP in 2008 is moving forward.
I am sure that developing in the New Silk Road era, Azerbaijan will strengthen its mission of being a leading country. I sympathize with Your Excellency’s leadership and potential of the Azerbaijani people.
Your Excellency,
Our today’s summit was very successful. There is no doubt that this year will remain in our memory as the beginning of a new era in development of bilateral relations. Today, we have signed the Joint Declaration on Principles for Relations and Cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Korea, Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Republic of Korea on Cooperation in the Field of Culture, and Air Services Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Republic of Korea.
These documents will turn into a foundation stone for future development. At the same time, this year - 14 years after Korea and Azerbaijan established diplomatic relations - both countries will open their embassies. The document signed this time on cooperation in fields of energy, information technologies, construction and transportation will elevate the cooperation between the two countries to a qualitatively new level.
Mutual interest of our countries has even increased recently. Taekwondo and Korean traditional herbal medicine is getting more and more popular in Azerbaijan. Last year, Korean TV-channels televised a program about your capital Baku. This year, a week of Azerbaijani culture will be held in Seoul. By continuing to expand such an exchange and cooperation, the Republic of Korea and Azerbaijan will do turn into more reliable friends.
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