President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan of the Russian Federation Rustam Minnikhanov in the village of Aghali of the Zangilan district.

Welcoming the Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Dear Rustam Nurgaliyevich, welcome again. I am very glad to see you. Of course, the opening of the joint center today has been a significant event. But even more critical is our communication. I always have fond memories of our meetings in Kazan and Baku. I am delighted that everything we outlined is being implemented, including the first facility of the “Araz Valley” Industrial Park, which is the facility of fraternal Tatarstan. We are very grateful for such an attitude towards the restoration of the territories, and, of course, we hope that the cooperation program we have outlined will be fully implemented.

We have already exchanged views with the delegation that came here to hold consultations and make decisions on future plans. There are excellent prospects, of course, in industrial cooperation, energy, and the oil and gas sector. Naturally, cultural cooperation is a considerable layer in itself. The peoples of Tatarstan and Azerbaijan have maintained fraternal and friendly relations for centuries. Of course, the relations between us are also a significant contribution to strengthening friendly and allied relations between Russia and Azerbaijan. Also, at the interstate level, everything we plan is being implemented very effectively and dynamically.

So once again, welcome, and I wish you a pleasant stay here in Jabrayil and Zangilan, as well as in Baku, tomorrow.

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Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov said:

- Dear Ilham Heydar oglu, first of all, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to visit your beautiful country, for your invitation, and, of course, I have words of gratitude to you, the President of Azerbaijan, and to our President. At the regional level, we also profoundly contribute to strengthening relations between our countries.

As for the Tatars and Azerbaijanis, we have been historically very close in terms of language. You communicated with the citizens of this village, and I understand almost everything. Of course, today, we visited the mosque under construction. All this is very close to us, bringing us even closer together. Our first President, Mintimer Shaimiyev, and Heydar Aliyev, a close friend of his and Tatarstan, laid a solid foundation for our relations.