President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has accepted credentials of newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria Nikolay Yankov.

Ambassador Nikolay Yankov reviewed a guard of honor.

Nikolay Yankov presented his credentials to President Ilham Aliyev.

President Ilham Aliyev then spoke with the ambassador.

The head of state said that bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria are developing successfully, and stressed the importance of high-level reciprocal visits. President Ilham Aliyev recalled the trips of Bulgarian presidents and prime ministers to Baku and his visits to Bulgaria. President Ilham Aliyev expressed hope that Nikolay Yankov`s activity will contribute to the expansion of the bilateral cooperation.

Ambassador Nikolay Yankov extended greetings of Bulgarian President Rumen Radev to President Ilham Aliyev. He congratulated the head of state on his re-election as President as well as on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. The ambassador praised friendly relations between the leadership of the two countries and emphasized its role in developing the bilateral ties.

Touching upon the Southern Gas Corridor project, Nikolay Yankov said that the implementation of this project is of great importance in terms of ensuring European energy security as well as diversifying Bulgaria's gas supply, adding his country could play a transit role in this project in the future. He once again reiterated Bulgaria`s political commitment to the realization of this important project.

President Ilham Aliyev noted the significance of the recent inauguration of the Southern Gas Corridor in Baku and stressed that TANAP will be put into operation in the coming days. The President said that the Southern Gas Corridor project has been successfully implemented. The head of state noted that Bulgaria is an important part of this project and could play a transit role in the future to deliver Azerbaijani gas to other countries.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked for the greetings of President Rumen Radev and asked Nikolay Yankov to extend his greetings to the President of Bulgaria.

They exchanged views over various aspects of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria, in particular prospects in economic, tourism, investment making and agricultural fields.