Slovakia and the Republic of Azerbaijan are friendly countries and strategic partners. They strive for further deepening of relations and cooperation in the future.
This was stated by President Peter Pellegrini and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev at a joint press conference following their meeting on Monday in Bratislava. The meeting took place on the occasion of the Azerbaijani head of state’s first official visit to Slovakia.
“Today’s meeting was held in a very open and friendly atmosphere, since the Slovak Republic considers Azerbaijan its friendly country with which it maintains good relations. Slovakia views Azerbaijan as a country that is a strategic player in this region,” Pellegrini said.
He noted that Azerbaijan is the economically strongest country in the South Caucasus, is located at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, and has rich energy reserves.
It is necessary to intensify mutual cooperation in such areas as defense, energy, modern technologies, tourism, and culture. Pellegrini pointed out that Azerbaijan, along with other countries, can play a key role in the diversification of oil and gas supplies. He is confident that the expert groups of both countries will continue discussing the possibilities of using Azerbaijan’s capacities in the energy sector. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stated that Azerbaijan is ready to supply Slovakia with any volumes of gas at any time, if necessary. “By using Slovak technologies and the financial resources of Azerbaijan, which we can combine, we will be able to develop new products that we can offer on international markets,” the President of Azerbaijan added.
Pellegrini also expressed hope for attracting additional Slovak investments to Azerbaijan and for the opening of direct air service between the Azerbaijani capital Baku and Bratislava. He also congratulated Azerbaijan on the conclusion of peace with Armenia.
On Tuesday, meetings are also scheduled for I. Aliyev with Prime Minister Robert Fico and the Chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, Richard Raši.
In the period from January to July of this year, trade turnover with the member states of the European Union (EU) amounted to 12.4 billion US dollars.
Source: https://www.sme.sk/domov/c/pellegrini-prijal-prezidenta-azerbajdzanu-alijeva-hovorili-o-strategickom-partnerstve
