Ilham Aliyev received representatives of the Spanish football club “Atletico” (Madrid)

President Ilham Aliyev has received representatives of the Spanish football club “Atletico” (Madrid) visiting Azerbaijan.

Welcoming the guests, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- It is a pleasure for me to meet with your large delegation. I am sure that you are having a good time in Baku. You probably have detailed information about Azerbaijan, mainly related to the recent period. I would like to express my satisfaction with the work your club has carried out to popularize Azerbaijan. Of course, it is better to see once than to hear 10 times. Despite the short duration of your visit, I am sure that you will find the opportunity to get acquainted with Azerbaijan and establish closer contacts with our people.

Your club is well-known in the world, and I can say that you have a lot of fans in Azerbaijan too. As far as I know, you will play a match with a local team here. It will be a friendly match. But I hope that one day you will play a competitive match too. I do hope that the chances of our clubs and the level of their game will go up, and one day we will receive you in Baku as rivals.

But I still think that the main thing is a friendly relationship and getting to know each other. I am confident that cooperation at this level will allow you the opportunity to get to know our country and build closer ties in many areas.

Once again, welcome. I wish you a pleasant time in Azerbaijan.

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The president of FC "Atletico" (Madrid), Enrique Cerezo, expressed his gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for receiving the delegation. Sharing his impressions about Azerbaijan and Baku, Enrique Cerezo said:

- On arrival in Baku I was very impressed, because you have a really beautiful city. We are pleased that cooperation between our two countries is developing. I am very pleased to meet the Azerbaijani people. We are honored to be here.
Informing the President about FC "Atletico" (Madrid), Enrique Cerezo said that extensive development had been achieved in recent years and spoke about the club's plans for the future.

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President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Thank you very much for your kind words. I am aware that FC “Atletico” (Madrid) has a long history. Your team holds a special place not only in Spain but also in the world. Of course, this cooperation will help us improve the level of football in

Azerbaijan and expand our relations.

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The President of Azerbaijan expressed his confidence that the visit of FC "Atletico" (Madrid) to Azerbaijan would be useful in terms of expanding cooperation with Azerbaijani teams. He stressed that this trip was also a good opportunity for sportsmen to become more familiar with the country and said:

- I am very glad that you are in Baku now and getting to know our country. I do hope that these contacts will be continued.

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The president of FC "Atletico" (Madrid), Enrique Cerezo, expressed his confidence that the relations between Azerbaijan and the club he is leading would develop into a real partnership in the international sports world.

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The head of state congratulated the Spanish club on the achievements made by "Atletico Madrid" (Madrid) and Spanish football teams in general. Speaking about the work carried out in Azerbaijan in the field of sports, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- I can say that sport is developing rapidly in Azerbaijan and there are already very good results. In 2015, Baku will host the first European Olympic Games. Azerbaijan showed very good results in the latest Olympic Games in London, winning 10 medals, including two gold ones, and finished in 30th place among national teams.

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The next speaker, the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Madrid, Arturo Fernandez, said:

- Mr. President! We know that Spain and Azerbaijan do not have strong enough business relationships. But now FC "Atletico" (Madrid) has got the opportunity to come to your country. I think that a lot could be done between Spanish companies and your country. After this visit, I will go back to Spain, to Madrid. As you know, Madrid is home to 7,000,000 people, there are many companies working there. They want to do business, and Azerbaijan is a great place to engage in business.

We have seen your beautiful city, your country and the development happening here. You should be proud of your country. After returning to Madrid I will bring it to everyone’s attention that we can do business, that there are good opportunities to do that. We are ready to bring our companies to your beautiful country. I express my gratitude for the opportunity provided to "Atletico" (Madrid) and to me personally to come here.

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President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much. Yes, cooperation between our two countries is not at the proper level. Perhaps this is due to a lack of information. In Spain, not too many people are informed about Azerbaijan. In Azerbaijan, of course, people know about your country, but the number of people traveling to Spain is small. Of course, business people need to work more in this direction. We have very active relations with countries of Europe, while the European Union is our number one trade partner. Most of our exports go to the European Union. Of course, companies from Spain, one of the leading countries of Europe, could be more active in this matter.

Numerous projects in the fields of construction, infrastructure, energy and other areas are implemented in Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, however, the participation of Spanish companies in these projects is not sufficient. From this point of view, your communications and the information about Azerbaijan you will share may give an impetus to the attraction of more Spanish companies to our country and collective work. Azerbaijan has good business opportunities and investment environment. The economy is constantly evolving and there are great opportunities. Thus, we would like to see more companies from your country in Azerbaijan.

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Arturo Fernandez: We are already planning to come to your country with a trade delegation consisting of 20-25 representatives of Spanish companies working in energy and other sectors. Probably with the support of the Chamber of Commerce I represent, this visit will be paid in November-December this year. We can begin to build relations. I know that you cooperate with Italy, France, England and other countries. Unfortunately, Spain is not one of these countries yet. I will make every effort to ensure that Spain is also represented in Azerbaijan. Your country has great opportunities. Azerbaijan is a very attractive country.

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Stressing that Azerbaijan has established an active economic cooperation with leading countries of Europe, the President noted that there were good opportunities for expanding economic cooperation with Spain. He said that the Azerbaijani economy was developing rapidly.

He said that over the last 10 years the Azerbaijani economy grew by 300 per cent, i.e. three times. "We have a lot of plans relating to the future development,” the President said, adding that Azerbaijan as a partner intends to reach out to an even greater number of foreign companies. President Ilham Aliyev also noted that a further expansion of economic cooperation with Spanish companies, which has already begun, can meet the economic interests of our countries.

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The next speaker, player of FC “Atletico” (Madrid) Arda Turan, said:

- Mr. President, first of all thank you very much for receiving us. We wear the word “Azerbaijan” on your chests. For us, especially for me as a Turkish football player, it is a great honor to play in Spain with sponsorship of Azerbaijan. After visiting the Alley of Martyrs today, I said that I feel both Turkish and Azerbaijani. This is natural, because we are one nation and we have the same roots. Thank you for making Baku such a beautiful city. I have been to Baku before. But now it looks more majestic.

Although Azerbaijan is a young country, its development is very grand. I thank you for that.

Thank you very much for the fact that, as President, you have achieved such development, take care of the people and meet with us with great sincerity and cordiality. As a Turk and as an Azerbaijani, I am actually considered to be at home here and am very proud of that. Once again I express my appreciation to you.

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President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much! I am very glad to see you. I am sure that your trip will go well.

We have a special relationship and special feelings. We are united both by history and the present day. Turkey and Azerbaijan are, in the truest sense of the word, two friendly and brotherly countries. We are glad that you are playing in this team, because we perceive the successes of Turkey as our own. I do hope that you will come to Azerbaijan more often in the future.

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The footballers presented President Ilham Aliyev with souvenirs.

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A picture was taken at the end of the meeting.