Ilham Aliyev met with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, who is paying a working visit to Brussels, has held a meeting with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen welcomed President Ilham Aliyev to the NATO headquarters.

Then official photos were taken.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen congratulated President Ilham Aliyev on his re-election as President of Azerbaijan and wished him continued success in his work. Recalling earlier visits of President Ilham Aliyev to the NATO headquarters and his own visit to Baku in 2012, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that fruitful discussions had been held during the meetings. Noting that the relations between NATO and Azerbaijan were developing successfully, the Secretary General expressed his appreciation for Azerbaijan’s support in the fields of transit, financial aid and other areas of the ongoing peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan. The NATO Secretary General said that Azerbaijan was an important country in terms of energy security of Europe, as well as peace and security in the Caucasus, and expressed his confidence that these relations would continue to develop in the future.

Expressing his gratitude for the congratulations on his victory in the presidential election, President Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan-NATO relations were developing successfully in various fields and stressed the importance of Azerbaijan’s active participation in the energy security of Europe. Noting that the relations with NATO formed an important part of Azerbaijan's integration into Euro-Atlantic structures, the President expressed his hope that this cooperation would expand in the future.