President Ilham Aliyev received US State Secretary Hillary Clinton. The President welcomed the US State Secretary.
President Ilham Aliyev greeted the esteemed guest:
- Madame Secretary, welcome to Azerbaijan. I am delighted to see you. I hope our meeting will be a success. First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your Independence Day and convey my best wishes to the American people.
We attach a great importance to your visit. I am positive that your visit will further strengthen our partnership. The agenda of our bilateral relationship is broad. Our successful cooperation in various fields has a great history. I would like to stress, once again, that your visit will further strengthen our partnership and will be of importance to our region. Since our independence, the relations between the US and Azerbaijan have been developing successfully. We closely cooperate in economic field. We participate in peacekeeping operations. We work together on issues related to the war against terrorism. The issue of energy security is always on our agenda.
Of course, as one of the co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, the US works closely with us and other countries in resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This conflict is the biggest problem to us and a main threat to regional security. As you know, our territories have been under occupation for a long time. The UN Security Council, the OSCE, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, the OIC, all of these organizations have adopted various resolutions reflecting the situation and demanding the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan. We want to solve the conflict within the framework of international law and strive to achieve it as soon as possible. Because our people suffer from this conflict.
I am positive that we will discuss these and other issues today. I am sure that the results of these discussions will be fruitful and we will continue to develop our bilateral relations successfully after your visit. Welcome again!
US State Secretary Hillary Clinton expressed her gratitude:
- Thank you, Mr. President. I am glad and honored to be visiting Baku, your country. It is a particularly pleasant thing that my visit coincides with the Independence Day of my country.
I know that your country has tried hard for the last 20 years to establish a solid foundation for economic and social development. I am very loyal to our relations. We have held regular and meaningful talks during the last 18 months. The issues you raised are very important to us. I believe it is important that we have an opportunity to hold comprehensive talks.
I express my gratitude again for receiving me at the coast of the Caspian Sea, on such a wonderful day, in a spirit of friendship and partnership between our states.
