President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Minister of State for External Affairs of the Republic of India Mobashar Jawed Akbar.

Expressing his pleasure to visit Azerbaijan, the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Mobashar Jawed Akbar said: "On behalf of the Prime Minister, leadership and people of India, I congratulate you on the stability and development that your country achieved under the Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev's and your leadership."

President Ilham Aliyev expressed his gratitude to the Indian minister of state for the warm words. The head of state hailed Azerbaijan's tremendous achievements in the years of independence, saying it has become a stable and rapidly developing country."

The head of state said that the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Mobashar Jawed Akbar's visit to Azerbaijan creates good opportunity to discuss the prospects for developing bilateral relations between the two countries.

They underlined the importance of the Ministerial Conference on the sidelines of the "Heart of Asia"-Istanbul Process to be held in Baku in terms of the strengthening of regional cooperation and increasing international support for Afghanistan.