President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has today received Chair of the Board of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Fredrik Reinfeldt.

The head of state noted that the visit of Chair of the Board of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Fredrik Reinfeldt to the country paves the way for broad discussion of the Azerbaijan-EITI cooperation issues. He said that Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to join this initiative.

President Ilham Aliyev recalled with pleasure his participation in the first EITI meeting which was held in London. The head of state pointed to the fact that Azerbaijan had made a decision to join this process years before the country achieved significant financial resources from the oil sector. The head of state noted that in order to study the experience, the Azerbaijani delegations were sent to the countries which have sovereign funds at that time. President Ilham Aliyev noted with satisfaction that the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan received the 2007 UN Public Service Award in the category of "Improving transparency, accountability and responsiveness in the Public Service".

Fredrik Reinfeldt emphasized that Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. He hailed the country's long-term cooperation with this organization and its great achievements in this sphere. The Chair of the EITI Board noted that reports announced by the country meet the requirements of the organization.

Azerbaijan's commitment to the continuation of the cooperation with Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative was once again hailed. They exchanged views on implementation of all the necessary measures to restore Azerbaijan's status of a full-fledged member of this organization in the coming years.