President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by President of the Council of States of the Swiss Confederation Jean-René Fournier.
Welcoming members of the Swiss delegation, President Ilham Aliyev said:
- Welcome! I sincerely welcome you to Azerbaijan. I am sure that your visit will be an important step for the further development of Swiss-Azerbaijani relations.
As you know, our ties are successfully developing and covering many areas. First of all, I would like to note political ties. Over the past 10 years, the presidents of Switzerland and Azerbaijan have met annually and exchanged views on bilateral cooperation. Of course, the Davos World Economic Forum plays a special role here, as these meetings take place within the framework of the Forum. And this year has been no exception. I remember my meeting with the President of Switzerland in January this year. Various aspects of our bilateral ties were widely discussed and received a fresh impetus. At the same time, I should note that state visits were also organized. I was on a state visit to Switzerland and the presidents of Switzerland made state visits to Azerbaijan.
I am glad that our ties are not limited to the political dialogue only. There are also good results in the economy and investment. Swiss company Holcim has made investments in Azerbaijan amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. Azerbaijani companies also invest in your country, and this process is mutual.
Our cooperation within the framework of international financial institutions is also of particular importance.
Of course, inter-parliamentary relations also occupy an important place in the general context of our relations, and I am sure that further steps will be taken during your visit to develop these relations.
Greetings again and "Welcome!".
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President of the Council of States of the Swiss Confederation Jean-René Fournier said:
- Thank you very much, Mr. President. First of all, we are grateful to your country for such a warm welcome of us and our delegation. Of course, we feel proud that you are receiving us this morning. We also believe that this is a good opportunity to deepen our cooperation.
Of course, another part of the purpose of my visit is to further improve and strengthen our ties with the Azerbaijani parliament.
We actually believe that this is also a sign of an even closer rapprochement between the two peoples. We know that at present Azerbaijan, through its State Oil Company, is heavily involved in the daily life of the Swiss people.
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President Ilham Aliyev noted that as a result of Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan, more than a million Azerbaijanis have found themselves in the position of refugees and internally displaced persons. He said that the Azerbaijani government had been taking consistent measures to address the social problems of refugees and internally displaced persons.
President of the Council of States of the Swiss Confederation Jean-René Fournier expressed his satisfaction with the visit to Azerbaijan and emphasized that he was observing developed infrastructure in the country.
The sides touched upon issues of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Switzerland in various fields, including within international organizations, international financial institutions, and pointed to the importance of exchanging experience in various areas of public administration.
