Official visit of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Brdo pri Kranju, 9.6.2011  |  press release

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, received the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Dr Ilham Aliyev, who came to the Republic of Slovenia for a two-day official visit. After an official reception with military honours, the Slovenian and Azerbaijani presidents had a one-to-one conversation, followed by a plenary discussion between the delegations of the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, led by both presidents.

After the discussions, the Presidents attended the signing of bilateral agreements between the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Agreement on cooperation in the areas of culture, education and science was signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Samuel ®bogar, while the Convention on avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and on capital and the prevention of fiscal evasion was signed by the Minister of Commerce Darja Radiæ, MSc, both representing the Republic of Slovenia.

In his introduction, President Türk welcomed the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and emphasized that both countries have very good mutual relations, cooperate successfully and that economic relations between the countries are thriving. President Aliyev thanked the Slovenian resident for his hospitality and also pointed out that relations between Slovenia and Azerbaijan are at a high level, since there is an active ongoing political dialogue between the two states.

President Türk said that the otherwise modest level of trade increased by 10 per cent in the last year and that cooperation contracts in the energy sector, particularly with regard to the development of hydropower stations in Azerbaijan, have been signed. Cooperation in information technologies and the insurance industry has been developing, and the growth of Azerbaijani investments in Slovenia is expected. The President particularly emphasised the importance of cultural cooperation.

President Aliyev expressed his conviction that today's discussions and both the signed bilateral agreements will further strengthen the ties between the two countries. He stressed that Slovenia is one of Azerbaijan's most important partners in this region. He took the opportunity to mention specific proposals for cooperation and the joint investments of companies from both states, which will be the subject of further discussions between Slovenian and Azerbaijani business representatives during the visit. The President added that both sides express their support to intensify mutual cooperation for which excellent opportunities exist.

Both presidents also paid attention to some topical international issues. President Türk emphasised the importance Slovenia attributes to the successful development of European security and cooperation. He pointed out one of the longest armed conflicts taking place in Nagorno-Karabakh, where Slovenia, also in its discussions with Armenia and Russia, supports all progress made towards resolving the conflict. He emphasised that the current status quo is not acceptable and that efforts for a comprehensive system of principles to serve as basis for the possibility of a peace treaty be strengthened.

President Aliyev informed the Slovenian President of the latest course of negotiations for the settlement of the conflict and stressed the importance of the fundamental principles that may contribute to this goal. He said that Armenia has occupied almost 20 per cent of Azerbaijani territory for a long period of time and that more than half a million Azerbaijani people are internally displaced. He recalled that the United Nations Security Council has demanded the unconditional withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied territories and that similar resolutions have been adopted by other international organisations.

President Türk declared the progress made after the meeting hosted in March by Russian President Medvedev in Sochi as encouraging. Slovenia welcomes all efforts in this direction, said the President, and expressed his hope that discussions in Moscow at the end of June will bring real progress towards agreement on the precise principles of the peace treaty. In to his words, solutions will have to be looked for in the Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The President of Azerbaijan assured that his state wishes to achieve an equitable solution of this issue for which a good atmosphere and bases presently exist. Although, in his words, Armenia had been delaying negotiations for a long time, now the time has come to reach an appropriate solution. The suggested proposals may soon result in the liberation of Azerbaijani territory, said President Aliyev.

Both presidents also spoke about relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union. President Aliyev confirmed that Slovenia has contributed to strengthening these relations. He said that it would be necessary to define future cooperation priorities and thus build long-term strategic relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union. As the most important element in this respect he quoted cooperation in the energy sector and in providing a secure supply of energy to Europe.

In the framework of energy cooperation, the Slovenian President stressed the need to develop cooperative relations. He emphasised that efforts to increase energy security require better and all-round cooperation between energy users and suppliers. Some time ago in its discussions with Russia, Slovenia proposed a special conference of states, and contracting parties of the Southern Flow construction project; the President stated his opinion that such a multilateral approach could be integrated into other projects, such as the Nabucco gas pipeline.

As one of the priorities in cooperation between the European Union and Azerbaijan in the framework of the Eastern Partnership, President Türk quoted the liberalisation of visa arrangements as interpersonal contacts are of key importance and form the basis for all other relations.