The Lithuanian capital Vilnius has hosted the 3rd Eastern Partnership Summit of the European Union.
The summit was attended by President Ilham Aliyev.
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso welcomed President Ilham Aliyev and other heads of state and government.
Opening the summit, Dalia Grybauskaite, the President of Lithuania, which currently holds the presidency of the EU, welcomed all heads of state and government of the partner countries. She noted that the documents to be signed during the summit are important in terms of bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Emphasizing that these documents will also contribute to the strengthening of ties between our peoples, the President of Lithuania said that their implementation requires strong political will.
President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy congratulated the heads of partner countries on the signing of documents. Herman Van Rompuy congratulated President Ilham Aliyev on the signing of the agreement on the simplification of the visa regime between the European Union and Azerbaijan.
The President of the European Council described the signing of this document as an important step that will bring Azerbaijan closer to the European Union. He noted that other documents that will be signed with the member countries of Eastern Partnership will also contribute to this process.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso also offered his congratulations on the signing of the documents and described the summit as the beginning of a new phase of cooperation.
Welcoming efforts towards cooperation with the European Union, Jose Manuel Barroso reiterated his confidence that the 3rd Summit will multiply the achievements of the Eastern Partnership programme.
After the performance of a musical composition reflecting the spirit of the Eastern Partnership Summit, a ceremony was held to sign documents.
At the ceremony, an agreement was signed on visa facilitation between the EU and Azerbaijan.
On behalf of the Azerbaijani side, the agreement was signed by Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and the European Union - Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius and European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule.
Then, the summit participants had a photo taken.
After that, the plenary session of the 3rd Eastern Partnership Summit began.
The session was attended by President Ilham Aliyev.
It must be remembered that the Eastern Partnership, which covers six countries, including Azerbaijan, is an initiative of Poland and Sweden aimed at improving relations with the CIS countries within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy.
The first Eastern Partnership Summit was held in May 2009 in the capital of the Czech Republic – Prague and the second summit - in September 2011 in Warsaw. The next summit will be held in 2015 in the capital of Latvia - Riga.
