The Second Road and Belt International Cooperation Forum has continued in Beijing.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the Forum.

Chairman of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping welcomed Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and other heads of state and government.

In his remarks, Chairman of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping noted that the second Forum opened up new opportunities in terms of cooperation among countries.

The first session of the Forum was held under the motto “Boosting connectivity to explore new sources of growth”.

The heads of state and government then posed for photos.

President Ilham Aliyev then attended the second session called “Strengthening policy synergy and building closer partnership”.

The head of state also participated in the Forum’s third session “Promoting green and sustainable development to implement the UN 2030 Agenda”.

Addressing the session, President Ilham Aliyev thanked Chairman of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping for the invitation. The head of state congratulated the Chinese people on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. President Ilham Aliyev described Azerbaijan and China as partner countries. The head of state noted that a Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of “Silk Way Economic Belt” was signed during his state visit to China in 2015.

President Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan attaches great importance to the development of infrastructure. “Solid infrastructure base was created in Azerbaijan, which serves to the benefit of ours and our partners. Azerbaijan is also an energy exporter. Exporting energy has laid a substantial base and foundation for our development. We have used and continue to use our energy resources to the benefit of our people, and have achieved sustainable development. The diversification of economy is one of the key tasks today,” the Azerbaijani President said.

Pointing to the transport infrastructure, the head of state underlined the Alat Sea Trade Port and the newly launched Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. “Over 15,000 km of roads were built, the railroads were modernized in Azerbaijan. We are particularly actively involved in the East-West transport corridor as well as in the development of the North-South transport corridor. Air transportation infrastructure was created in Azerbaijan. Six international aiports were built.”

“Azerbaijan has the largest commercial fleet of 260 ships in the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijan’s potential in transport sector continues to increase, opening up good opportunities for international cooperation. The economic development has allowed to reduce the unemployment and poverty to 5 percent in Azerbaijan. Transport and energy security are a key element of national security,” the head of state added.

The President described the “One Belt One Road” initiative as not only a transportation project, but also a project, which contributes to peace, security and cooperation.

The forum culminated with the signing of a Joint Communique.

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On April 27, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev completed his working visit to the People’s Republic of China.