President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Welcoming the Minister, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Dear Minister, I am very glad to see you. I am confident that during your visit to Azerbaijan, we will discuss the positive development of our relations in detail, the developing bilateral relations. I looked at the data before your visit and saw that there is an increase in trade turnover. Despite the pandemic, it is very positive. All the initiatives and decisions put forward by President Rouhani and myself have been implemented. We are very pleased with the level of cooperation during President Rouhani's presidency, and this period is coming to an end. Please convey my greetings and gratitude for the partnership and cooperation.

We have made great progress in all areas. I think that the relations between our countries are perhaps at the highest level in the history of our cooperation. Of course, there are new opportunities, new challenges connected with the new situation in the region – the post-conflict situation. Of course, as two brotherly countries, Iran and Azerbaijan must coordinate efforts and contribute to long-term and sustainable peace in the region. I am sure that the Iranian government shares the same approach because we have had many contacts in the period since the conflict was resolved. Perhaps we will touch on several important issues today to make this process more smooth. Welcome again!

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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said:

- Mr. President, first of all, thank you very much for receiving us. Secondly, I have greetings to Your Excellency from President Rouhani. He has great respect for you and the people of Azerbaijan. We are happy to have the best period of relations with Azerbaijan during our administration. We are very happy to leave behind perfect relations with Azerbaijan, a brotherly country, for the next administration expected to come to power in Iran at the end of our term.

I would like to congratulate you and the people of Azerbaijan on your national holiday in advance and express our deep admiration for the development you have managed to bring to Azerbaijan and this region. We are pleased with the level of cooperation and believe that we can do even more to achieve the desires expressed by Your Excellency, President Rouhani and the Iranian leadership. We believe and congratulate you on your historic role in the liberation of Azerbaijani lands. Now you can play a historic role in bringing peace to the region, and we want to commend you for expressing your desire to achieve peace with Armenia. This is very important, and we in Iran are ready to play any role in achieving this and the reconstruction and restoration of the liberated territories.

Mr. President, thank you very much again for receiving me and my delegation and for your sincere hospitality.

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President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you.