President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin.

The head of state expressed his confidence that the visit of the delegation led by chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin to Azerbaijan will be successful and fruitful, and contribute to the development of friendly relations between the two countries. President Ilham Aliyev recalled his recent meeting with President Vladimir Putin held in the Russian Federation, pointing to the regular meetings between the two countries’ presidents. The President emphasized the importance of these contacts in terms of advancing bilateral ties between the two countries in all fields. The head of state noted that bilateral relations cover a wide range of areas, hailing strong political relations, and good dynamics the two countries enjoy in economic, trade, transport, energy, humanitarian and other fields.

President Ilham Aliyev also underlined the importance of the interparliamentary cooperation in strengthening relations between the two countries. The head of state pointed to the two countries’ successful cooperation within international organizations, saying they have always rendered mutual support to each other at the international level. “This is a good indicative of relationship between the two countries which is based on trust.”

President Ilham Aliyev once again expressed his confidence that the visit of the delegation led by Vyacheslav Volodin to Azerbaijan will contribute to the development of bilateral relations between the two countries.

Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin congratulated the head of state on his confident victory in the presidential election, saying that the people expressed their support for the policy, including the foreign policy conducted by President Ilham Aliyev. Vyacheslav Volodin emphasized that the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan enjoy high level relations based on strategic partnership. He described particular importance of the policy pursued by the heads of state in this regard.

Ponting to the interparliamentary cooperation, Vyacheslav Volodin noted that the successful development of ties in this area contributes to bringing the two countries’ peoples closer to each other. Vyacheslav Volodin praised the expansion of economic cooperation between the two countries, describing a 30 per cent increase in trade as a good indicative of this. The chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation also pointed out the expansion of tourism cooperation. He noted that over 850,000 Russian tourists visited Azerbaijan last year, adding that this figure increased 18 per cent, exceeding the indicators of many countries which are traditional for Russian tourists.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked Vyacheslav Volodin for the congratulations.

The sides also exchanged views on bilateral cooperation prospects.