Statement by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev

- Dear Mr. President,

First of all, I want to thank you for the hospitality extended to me and members of the Azerbaijani delegation. I am confident that my visit will give a new impetus to the relations between our countries. I want to take this opportunity to invite you, Mr. President, to pay an official visit to Azerbaijan at your convenience. Today, we have extensively discussed the various aspects of Vietnamese-Azerbaijani relations.

We attach particular importance to these relations. Last year, the Embassy of Azerbaijan opened in Vietnam. It plays a positive role in the development of our bilateral relations. We support each other in international organizations. Today, during our discussions, we decided that we would continue to support each other in all international organizations we are members of.

I have informed Mr. President about the events taking place in the region. In particular, I set out my position in relation to the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which poses the biggest threat to regional security. For more than 20 years Armenia has been occupying Nagorno-Karabakh, historical Azerbaijani land, and seven adjacent regions. As a result of this occupation, one million Azerbaijanis have become refugees and IDPs in their native land. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions in connection with the settlement of the conflict. These resolutions call for an unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories. Despite this, Armenia flouts the resolutions and continues to hold our lands under occupation. This conflict poses the greatest threat to the security of the region and should be resolved only within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Today, we also paid great attention and spent time on our bilateral economic ties. The trade turnover between our two countries has reached $400 million. The business forum to be held today will be joined by leaders of more than 50 companies from Azerbaijan. I am sure that during the forum they will also discuss contracts, which will result in a growth of bilateral trade.

Of course, there has also been an exchange of views on possible cooperation in the oil and gas sector. Azerbaijani oil is exported to Vietnam. We will take additional measures to increase these exports. We have exchanged views on mutual investments in the oil and gas and other sectors. I am sure that there will be good results.

There are excellent prospects for the deepening of our cooperation in the humanitarian sphere. In particular, there are excellent opportunities for cooperation in the fields of education, culture and tourism. In short, our bilateral agenda is quite extensive and covers various areas. I have no doubt that the results of the visit will be very positive and our friendship and cooperation will continue to develop successfully.

Once again, thank you, Mr. President.