President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Minister for Foreign Trade and Development of Finland Anne-Mari Virolainen.

The head of state said that Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen’s visit to Azerbaijan creates a good opportunity for discussing the issues relating to economic cooperation as well as the increase in trade between the two countries, adding that there is a great potential for it.

President Ilham Aliyev noted the importance of bilateral cooperation in transport corridor field too. He said that Azerbaijan is actively investing in the establishment of transport links between its partners and neighbors, adding that Azerbaijan is becoming an important East-West and North-South transport corridor.

“The successful implementation of the North-South transport project has started. Azerbaijan is making large investments in this area.”

The head of state also stressed the importance of increasing business activity in terms of expanding economic cooperation.

Pointing to the fact that several Finnish companies operate in Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev underlined the possibility of increasing the number of these companies. He noted that Azerbaijan's economic development, encouraging plans and strong economic infrastructure create good opportunities for Finnish companies, like other foreign firms to work actively in various fields of the country’s economy.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development of Finland Anne-Mari Virolainen extended President Sauli Niinisto’s greetings to the head of state. The minister noted that the Azerbaijani and Finnish presidents’ meeting in Davos is recalled with pleasure.

The Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade and Development described her visit program to Azerbaijan as diverse, expressing her hope that she will hold fruitful meetings as part of her trip to the country. She noted that the beauty of Baku made great impressions on the members of the delegation, adding that the historical architectural monuments in the capital are in perfect harmony with modern buildings.

Minister Anne-Mari Virolainen said that Azerbaijan and Finland have a common history, saying there are good opportunities for expanding cooperation between the two countries.

The sides exchanged views on the involvement of Finnish companies in energy, transit, vocational education, and infrastructure projects between the two countries, improvement of trade relations between entrepreneurs, and prospects for cooperation in investment, ecology and other fields.

The head of state thanked for President Sauli Niinisto’s greetings and asked Anne-Mari Virolainen to extend his greetings to the Finnish President.