Ilham Aliyev and José Manuel Barroso had a meeting with the participation of delegations

Following a face-to-face meeting, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso had an extended meeting with the participation of delegations.

Addressing the guests, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said:

- Mr. President, welcome once again! I welcome you and your delegation here. I am very pleased to host you in Azerbaijan. As we noted, we have been waiting for your visit. I am very pleased that this year starts with such an important meeting and this demonstrates the cooperation we had in the past and the level of our relations. I am confident that this visit will play an important role in the development of relations between the European institutions and Azerbaijan. Our relations already enjoy a good history and have useful future prospects. Our bilateral agenda is very broad and it covers many areas discussed today. I am thankful for the sincere discussion and open conversation. This was very useful and helpful. I am confident that such a good beginning of this year will create opportunities to realize our goals. In this context, energy security is considered as political and economic reforms. As you know, Azerbaijan has very good relations with the EU member countries. Therefore, we think that this visit will advance our relations and we will see very positive results in the future. Once again, welcome to Azerbaijan! 

President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso said:

Mr. President, I am very delighted to be in Baku. I had the pleasure to accept your kind invitation. I think that this visit is an opportunity to broaden further the high level relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union. Azerbaijan is our reliable partner in this region. We declared it before and see it openly once again. We opened our delegation in 2008 and then, the embassy in your country. The Azerbaijani economy is a fast growing economy. Your growth rate is very high. I would say that this is the fastest pace in the world. I know that your society is also a very dynamic one. I welcome it.

At the same time, I highly appreciate the important role played by Azerbaijan in international issues and, particularly, the fight against terrorism. Azerbaijan contributes to the prevention of conflicts in some countries. Your commitment in these issues has a particular importance.

It is natural that our relations go beyond the energy issue. We will also discuss other issues. But we would like to declare openly that our relations are not limited only to oil and gas. We are resolved to build wider relations based upon issues of mutual interest.