Dear Mr. Guterres,

I extend my heartfelt congratulations to you on the occasion of your election as Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Since the first days of its independence, Azerbaijan has attached great importance to comprehensive cooperation with the United Nations and is effectively cooperating with all its institutions. Azerbaijan supports the United Nations' position on maintaining international peace and security and on the issues of concern to the international community.

I recall with pleasure your visits to Azerbaijan, the meetings and discussions we held here.

I hope that we will continue our joint efforts towards establishing peace, security and tranquility across the world and fulfilling global tasks.

We also pin great hopes on your personal efforts as UN Secretary General towards ensuring the liberation of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territories from the occupation, the return of more than one million Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons to their native lands, and a peaceful and fair resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict based on international law.

Once again I congratulate you and wish you every success in the post of UN Secretary General which has an important and leading role in tackling the global challenges facing the mankind and establishing peace and security throughout the world.

Sincerely,

Ilham Aliyev

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Baku, October 14, 2016