Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, held an expanded meeting with Robert Fico, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic.

Addressing the meeting, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Esteemed Prime Minister,

Distinguished guests,

I sincerely welcome you to Azerbaijan.

This is your first visit, and I am sure it will be very successful.

We have just discussed many important issues during our one-on-one meeting. We exchanged ideas about the prospects of Azerbaijan-Slovakia relations, and we agreed that these ties have a very promising future. The prospects for cooperation are very positive in both political and economic fields, as well as in energy and industrial production sectors.

I believe that your visit will open a new chapter in our relations. Because the scope of the issues we are discussing today is so broad that resolving them will elevate our relations to a very high level.

Moreover, we will be signing a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership later today. This is a crucial political document that essentially elevates our relationship to the highest level. The document itself and its content, of course, reflect our intentions, demonstrating mutual respect and support.

Now we will continue our discussions with the participation of the delegations. I am confident that the agreements we reach will be executed in a timely manner, and thus, our cooperation will develop at a faster pace.

Once again, welcome.

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Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico said:

- Dear Mr. President.

Dear guests, dear friends.

On behalf of the whole Slovak delegation, I would like to thank you for warmly welcoming us and the traditional hospitality. It is very good that we are ready to speak about concrete projects. And now these are the topics we are discussing.

Distinguished Mr. President, without going into details I would like to highlight the fact that there are many issues, which connect us. Even though we are a member state of the European Union, we are connected by a pragmatic approach. We are connected by a sovereign foreign policy, which is pursued by you, and we also aim to carry out such a sovereign foreign policy. We are also connected by the fact that we see the world in all four directions and we do not focus only on the West or on one of the sides. We also respect international law. Obviously, the principle of non- interference into internal affairs of other countries and the respect for territorial integrity of every country are the primary factors for us.

Mr. President, I congratulate you on your election to a fifth term as the president of your country. It is a big success. I also want to congratulate you when it comes to the significant progress, which is visible in your country.

What you have achieved when it comes to territorial integrity is an example for other regions in the world. I think that this is something, which should be appreciated a lot.

Mr. President, you will be welcome in Slovakia should you visit our country. You can choose the date. Please, take as many entrepreneurs as possible with you. I believe that we will have common topics to talk about because only those questions, which we opened at our meetings, indicate substantial prospects.