Presidents of Azerbaijan and Latvia held meeting in limited format

Following the official welcome ceremony, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, held a meeting with the President of the Republic of Latvia, Egils Levits, in a limited format.

The presidents of Azerbaijan and Latvia recalled their meeting in Davos earlier this year and noted its role in developing relations between the two countries. President Ilham Aliyev recalled his visit to Latvia.

During the meeting, the sides indicated that Azerbaijan-Latvia relations had the nature of a strategic partnership and acknowledged Latvia's support for the development of Azerbaijan's relations with the European Union and NATO. It was also emphasized that the embassy of Latvia in Azerbaijan was coordinating Azerbaijan’s relations with NATO.

The President of Latvia touched upon Azerbaijan's chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement and noted the last summit-level meeting of the Movement held in Baku.

Providing information about Azerbaijan’s chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement, President Ilham Aliyev said that the chairmanship, expected to finish at the end of this year, was leaving an outstanding legacy. The President of Azerbaijan mentioned the work carried out in the direction of institutionalization of the Movement during Azerbaijan’s chairmanship, noting that relations between the Movement and the European Union had been established for the first time in the history of the Non-Aligned Movement during the chairmanship of Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev assessed the participation of the High Representative of the European Union, Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell, in the online session of the Non-Aligned Movement on COVID-19 in 2020 as a clear manifestation of that.

President Ilham Aliyev then provided information about the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the process of negotiations around a peace treaty. The President of Azerbaijan said that he supported the negotiations process and the Brussels peace agenda, which were carried out through the efforts of President of the European Council Charles Michel.

President Egils Levits said that the territorial integrity of states and international law were the fundamental principles of his country's foreign policy, emphasizing that Latvia supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. During the meeting, the presidents also discussed the state of relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union, as well as Azerbaijan’s role in the energy security of the European Union. The sides also touched upon the importance of the Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Partnership signed between Azerbaijan and the European Union in the field of energy during the visit of President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to Baku.

During the meeting, the presidents also exchanged views on issues of cooperation within international organizations, expansion of economic and trade relations, activities of the intergovernmental commission, the participation of Latvian companies in the restoration and construction work in the territories of Azerbaijan liberated from occupation, renewable energy, tourism, ICT, artificial intelligence and other issues of mutual interest.