President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received co-chairs of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Ismail Serageldin, former heads of state and government, and members of the Center’s Board of Trustees.

The guests expressed their gratitude to the President of Azerbaijan for his continuous support of the Center’s activities. The members of the delegation said that during the past ten years alone, the ranks of the Center had expanded, and it had developed into an authoritative institution at the international level. They expressed their confidence that the 10th Global Baku Forum organized by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center would be successful and noted that important issues of the international agenda would be discussed as part of this Forum.

The President of Azerbaijan said that he would continue supporting the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, emphasized the importance of expanding the authority and influence of this institution at the international level, turning it into an important platform, and described the expansion of the Center’s ranks with representatives from new regions as a positive factor.

President Ilham Aliyev noted that the 10th Global Baku Forum was dedicated to a very topical issue, adding that issues related to multilateralism and regional and global problems would be discussed as part of the Forum.

Vaira Vike-Freiberga mentioned her participation in the conference dedicated to the anniversary of the great Azerbaijani poet and thinker Nizami Ganjavi in the ancient city of Ganja 10 years ago, noting that the idea of establishing the Nizami Ganjavi International Center and holding the Global Baku Forum had been put forward at that event.

The guests said that this year marked the 100th anniversary of the National Leader of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev, noting that a conference dedicated to the state activities of the National Leader would be held as part of the Forum.

During the meeting, the sides also exchanged views on issues on the international and regional agenda.

The head of state highlighted the issues of peace and security in the South Caucasus, the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the process of negotiations on a peace treaty, the role Azerbaijan was playing in the energy security of Europe, Azerbaijan's development strategy until 2030, increasing transport and logistical capabilities, digital transformation, as well as the concepts of development and export of energy resources. President Ilham Aliyev also took questions from the guests.