Presidents of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan held a meeting in an expanded format

After their face-to-face meeting, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov held a meeting in an expanded format with the participation of delegations.

Welcoming the meeting participants, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Dear Islam Abduganiyevich,

Dear guests,

Please let me warmly welcome you to Azerbaijan again. Welcome to our country! You and I have exchanged views on a wide range of issues of mutual interest and regional importance. I am pleased to note the coincidence of our views on all matters.

Expressing his confidence that the official visit of the President of Uzbekistan would produce good results in terms of opening up new opportunities for the expansion of cooperation between the two countries in various fields, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Our interaction will become even closer and cooperation more active. For us, Uzbekistan is a friendly and brotherly country.

And we are very pleased that our relations are developing on the basis of friendship, equal partnership and mutual support.

This support is also felt in international structures where we support each other on all issues related to our countries. And, of course, this interaction in international organizations allows us to fully protect our national interests and advocate a consolidated position on many issues of international politics.

We are very grateful to Uzbekistan for its support of Azerbaijan in the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other structures. For our part, we also support you in all issues and initiatives you have put forward.

Emphasizing the importance of using the existing potential for economic cooperation between the two countries, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Today, we will discuss in detail the issues of economic cooperation. In this regard, I think there is still a lot to do. Although we are making progress, I think that bilateral trade could be much bigger. Of course, the recent meeting of the intergovernmental commission has identified priorities and further ways of developing our relations in this field. Perhaps today we will be updated on specific projects and initiatives that are expected in the future.

I want to warmly welcome you again. You are very loved and respected in Azerbaijan. You are our dear guest.

Welcome!

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Indicating that he was pleased to come to Azerbaijan and meet with President Ilham Aliyev again, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov said:

The geopolitics of our region and far beyond its borders is changing so rapidly that we see again that it is simply necessary to meet more often. And it is not necessary to sign major documents. We simply need to exchange views on the difficult situations we have to respond to.

President Islam Karimov said that Uzbekistan considers Azerbaijan a strategic partner. The many similarities between the two peoples are a factor that brings the two countries closer together.

The President of Uzbekistan said:

- Azerbaijan is a strategic partner for Uzbekistan. A partner that has always been close to us, above all through the unity of common interests. And not only through common interests, but also through our past, our history, not just in matters related to the proximity of the language, spiritual closeness, mentality of our people. It is extremely important for us that we have never had any serious problems or contradictions.

I have been the head of Uzbekistan for many years. And I do not recall discussing any problem in terms of resolving it, where there would be a lack of understanding or a serious contradiction. Isn’t this proof that our relations have always been built on mutual understanding and mutual support? I hope that this will continue to be the case.