Aliyev: Georgia Remains a Strategic Partner for Azerbaijan
President Margvelashvili addressed his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev at the Avlabari Presidential Palace before the commencement of an expanded meeting: “Our cooperation, neighborhood and strategic relationships are an example to others.”
Aliyev is paying a two-day official visit to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, to meet with Georgian officials and discuss the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Prior to the meeting with his Georgian counterpart, Aliyev laid a wreath on the memorial of the heroes who have fallen for Georgia’s territorial integrity.
According to the Presidential Administration of Georgia, the two parties had a face-to-face and an expanded format meeting at the Presidential Palace. The President of Georgia is convinced that the Azerbaijani President’s visit to Tbilisi will give new impetus to the relations between the two countries.
“Let me warmly welcome you in the framework of the visit that I have been waiting for for so long. I am sure that your visit…will deepen our mutual very significant, far-reaching projects,” President Margvelashvili said. In his turn, President Aliyev thanked his Georgian counterpart for his hospitality and expressed hope that his visit to Georgia would “greatly benefit” relations between the two countries. “I am glad to have the opportunity to visit Georgia once again. Georgia is a close country for Azerbaijan, a strategic partner. We continue to effectively cooperate in various fields. We hope and we wish that the bilateral cooperation will be intensified to cover all areas. There are a lot of issues on our agenda to be solved,” Aliyev said.
After a joint press conference the two parties signed a declaration on deepening the bilateral cooperation between their countries. Tomorrow Aliyev will visit Marneuli district with Margvelashvili an area where a large number of Azerbaijani ethnic minorities live. The President of Azerbaijan also plans to meet with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia Davit Usupashvili, and with the Catholicos Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II.
Tamar Svanidze