President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received renowned US religious figures - Rabbi Abraham Cooper and representative of the evangelical community Johnnie Moore.

Abraham Cooper noted that during his visits to Azerbaijan back in Soviet era he saw the conditions created by national leader Heydar Aliyev for religious communities to freely carry out their activities. Rabbi Cooper hailed the fact that excellent conditions were ensured in Azerbaijan for peaceful and free activities of all representatives of religious communities, including the Jewish community, under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev.

President Ilham Aliyev pointed out that all nationalities and religious communities have historically enjoyed peaceful coexistence in Azerbaijan. He noted that these traditions have centuries-old history and that this trend has been successfully preserved, multiculturalism has been one of the key priorities of the state policy and national and religious tolerance have been highly ensured in the country during the years of independence. The head of state said that all this reflects the policy pursued by the state and the will of the people. Emphasizing that representatives of different nationalities and religions live in a friendly environment as one family in Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev noted that they contribute to the overall development of the country.

The head of state expressed his hope that the visit of Rabbi Abraham Cooper and representative of the evangelical community Johnnie Moore to Azerbaijan will contribute to the strengthening of cooperation and mutual understanding.

The successful development of Azerbaijan-US bilateral relations in a variety of areas was hailed during the meeting.