After the one-on-one meeting, the President of the Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev and the President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko had a meeting in an expanded format with the participation of the delegations.
Welcoming the guests, President Ilham Aliyev said:
- Mr President!
Dear members of the delegation!
I am happy to greet you in Azerbaijan. Welcome.
I am confident that the visit will have very good results. Yesterday we started discussing issues of bilateral relations with you and continued it today, and now we will continue our work with the delegations. We highly value our relations. We very much hope that they will continue to actively develop and deepen. We have already exchanged official visits at the highest level several times. There is very active political interaction and political consultations. Over the past few years, Belarus and Azerbaijan have strengthened their relations, which have reached a very high level. In economic relations, in relations in the sphere of industrial production, in the humanitarian sphere and in the sphere of energy, we have good results. But most importantly, these last years of active interaction have brought us so much closer that Belarus and Azerbaijan are perceived as very close, friendly countries both regionally and worldwide.
The basis of our relations is sincerity, mutual respect and mutual support. On this basis, we have already built a solid building for our relations. Today ties between enterprises are expanding, investment projects and projects related to industrial production are being implemented, and an exchange of experience is also taking place. In other words, our relations have a very full nature. Of course, the visit of the President of Belarus to Azerbaijan will give a new impetus to these relations. The documents we sign today will also help to ensure that we cooperate even more actively, support each other, help each other and work together.
Once again, dear Aleksandr Grigoryevich, welcome. I wish you and the members of the delegation all the best.
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Speaking at the meeting, President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko said:
- Dear Ilham Heydar oglu, first of all, I want to thank you for the hospitality and warmth that are taking shape between our countries not only during our visits. This is natural. Actually, it is probably a feature of the national character of your people and you as part of these people. Thank you for the frankness and sincerity with which you always receive our delegation, me and all our Belarusians in Azerbaijan. I think you do not and cannot have complaints in terms of the attitude to representatives of your people and your nation in our country. Thank you very much for that.
You are right to say that in general, our two countries have no problems either in politics or diplomacy. We work very closely in international organizations. You always supported, and support, us, we have always supported, and will support, you. In the trade-economic field and in the economy, we also have very decent dynamics. The criteria for this are trade and economic relations and the trade turnover: from 2006 to 2012 it increased by 6 times.
This is a very decent pace. But, of course, there are absolute volumes - 300 million dollars, it is not our volumes. It is not our volumes. We have more opportunities. And, thank God, we have the opportunity to increase this volume - you and I have just discussed this problem - by creating not just assembly plants here. Some of them are from 40 to 60 per cent local. It is already co-production. Of course, what we can already make with you on Azerbaijani soil does not fit into Azerbaijan at all. We talked about it. I asked the President to use his prestige in the international arena - this is very important - so that we can trade together in third countries, actively reach international markets and sell products of joint ventures together, getting relevant benefits from it.
Our specialists suggest, Ilham Heydar oglu, thinking of setting up a working group on industrial cooperation - you talked about this a lot when we were talking one on one - within the framework of our intergovernmental commission.
