President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by U.S. Transportation Commander, General Darren McDew.

The head of state expressed confidence that the visit of U.S. Transportation Commander, General Darren McDew to Azerbaijan will contribute to the strengthening of cooperation between the two countries in the field of defense, especially with the Transportation Command. The head of state highlighted good history of this collaboration. President Ilham Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan has close contacts and cooperation with the U.S. Transportation Command, and stressed that it is importance of the visit of General Darren McDew in terms of reviewing the work done and discussing future plans. The head of state said that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner on all fronts, including the transport sphere.

President Ilham Aliyev noted that Azerbaijani servicemen were one of the first contributors to peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, where they have served for 15 years. The President described it as a vital part of Azerbaijan-U.S. and Azerbaijan-NATO cooperation. Touching upon his participation in the NATO Summit on Afghanistan, the head of state underlined the necessity of continuing cooperation in this area. President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan and Afghanistan have maintained very successful cooperation in recent years. The head of state noted that the Afghan President has visited Azerbaijan twice and they have held meetings, adding very good business relations were established between the two countries.

U.S. Transportation Commander, General Darren McDew stressed that Azerbaijan is a very important country from a strategic point of view. He thanked President Ilham Aliyev for strong cooperation, underlining it is of great importance not only to his country, but all to countries supporting Afghanistan. General Darren McDew extended gratitude of the commander of Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan to President Ilham Aliyev for the contribution of the Azerbaijani servicemen and their professional services.