Ilham Aliyev met with UK Prime Minister Theresa May

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Theresa May in London.

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Theresa May welcomed President Ilham Aliyev.

They then posed together for official photos.

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Theresa May congratulated President Ilham Aliyev on his victory in the presidential election.

Prime Minister Theresa May said she was pleased to meet with President Ilham Aliyev, adding the Azerbaijani President’s visit will create a good opportunity to discuss the economic, trade, energy and security issues between the two countries. The UK Prime Minister hailed the importance of the agreement to be signed between SOCAR and BP in terms of expanding bilateral cooperation.

Prime Minister Theresa May thanked President Ilham Aliyev for Azerbaijan’s involvement in and support for peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked for the congratulations, describing the agenda of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the UK as very broad. The President praised the active cooperation between the two countries in a number of areas, including in political, economic, energy, trade, and investment making.

The head of state noted that the active work was underway towards the expansion and diversification of trade relations, hailing a great potential in this regard. “A number of UK companies have been operating in Azerbaijan for many years. The SOCAR-BP cooperation is of strategic importance.”

President Ilham Aliyev noted that the Azerbaijan-UK bilateral relations were based on partnership, expressing his confidence that his visit would contribute to the expansion of cooperation between the two countries.

The sides also discussed the issues relating to regional development and security issues.

The meeting was followed by the signing of Agreement on the exploration development and production sharing for the prospective exploration block D230 in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea between SOCAR of the Republic of Azerbaijan and BP Exploration (Azerbaijan) Limited and SOCAR Oil Affiliate. The agreement was signed by SOCAR president Rovnag Abdullayev and Chief Executive Officer of BP Robert Dudley in the presence of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and UK Prime Minister Theresa May.