Official dinner reception was hosted on behalf of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in honor of Ilham Aliyev

An official dinner reception has been hosted on behalf of President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon in honor of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

The heads of state addressed the event.

President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon said:

Dear friends,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am very pleased to welcome distinguished Ilham Heydarovich Aliyev, my dear friend, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and a substantial delegation of fraternal Azerbaijan.

As part of the visit of esteemed Ilham Heydarovich we had a constructive and extensive conversation during which we defined the ways of elevating our interaction to a higher level. The Republic of Azerbaijan takes an important place in the structure of international relations of our state. The fact that our countries share the same stance on many international and regional issues, conceptual approaches of both Azerbaijan and Tajikistan in international and regional organizations fosters dynamic and steady development of Tajik-Azerbaijani relations.

The contemporary history of the Tajik-Azerbaijani relations proved that the course our countries chose towards long-term and effective interaction, based on principles of benevolence and mutually beneficial partnership was right. Today, we strengthened the existing legal framework by signing several important documents and, thereby, once more expressed our will and determination towards closer cooperation. I want to express hope that we will be able to achieve the goals set, mutually beneficial cooperation for the good of our friendly peoples through our joint efforts.

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President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said:

- Dear Emomali Sharipovich,

Dear friends,

My official visit is nearing its end. I would like to express my gratitude to You once again, esteemed Emomali Sharipovich, for hospitality. From the first moment of our stay on this wonderful soil, we have felt at home. Today was very eventful and fruitful. We, as you noted, discussed with you a broad agenda of our relations. We had a very objective analysis of what is happening around us as well as a sincere exchange of views on a wide range of issues of mutual interest. The main thing is the result of our work – we determined the concrete ways of development of our relations. Having wonderful political relations and cooperating actively at international organizations and supporting each other on all the matters of principle, we, of course, must step up our work in the economic field as well. The decisions adopted during the meeting of the intergovernmental commission will soon yield positive results.

Our cooperation is based on the history, affinity and centuries-long friendship of our peoples. Today, our countries as two independent states are active members of the international community, the countries which pursue their independent policy, foreign policy, the countries, which actively work to deepen regional security. I think the regional cooperation in the Central Asia, Caspian Sea and Caucasus will largely depend on interaction of our countries, close coordination of our efforts. This is because we have a common goal of making the life of our people, citizens better, strengthen independence of our countries, and cement international positions of our countries.

We discussed, in a very open atmosphere, the important international issues, our views coincide. We aim the constructive cooperation. We can achieve more through cooperation, dialogue and mutual assistance. We do not have unsolved issues in bilateral relations. On the contrary, there is the aspiration for new projects, aspiration to combine efforts, combine our potential in various fields.

The humanitarian cooperation is the basis of our relations. Today, I touched upon the importance of humanitarian cooperation speaking to the students and teaching staff while at the National University of Tajikistan. We have enormous potential in this direction. We want our young generation to be close friends like us.

I am sure that the members of the delegation and the ministers will also take the Presidents as models – the way we treat each other, respect each other and cherish our friendship. Our meetings with Emomali Sharipovich at all the international events are regular with several ones held this year. We treat each other as brothers whenever we meet. It gives a good impetus to our relations and to those who solve important issues at their workplace either in the government or at the parliament or at public structures.

I am very happy with the results of the visit. The declaration signed is the most important political document, which will define the future development of our relations. Such documents are very important too. We look into the future with optimism.

I would like to take this opportunity to invite esteemed President Emomali Sharipovich to Azerbaijan at his earliest convenience.