President Ilham Aliyev hosted an official dinner in honor of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at “Gulustan” Palace.
Touching upon the relations between the two states, President Ilham Aliyev stressed the importance of high-level mutual visits to develop bilateral relations. “Some important documents, which outline main directions of our bilateral cooperation, have been signed today, during the visit. Our high-level meetings have become regular. Mutual official visits of the presidents are evidences of the dynamics of our relations. There have been four such visits during the last five years, which show how much importance we attach to our bilateral relations. From the economic point of view, despite the financial crisis of 2009, we have witnessed an increase in our commodity circulation. I suppose it is one of the rare highlights of 2009. We observe growth in commodity circulation this year as well.”
The President mentioned that the achievements of Belarus are closely watched in Azerbaijan. “We observe the ongoing processes in Belarus with a keen interest. We rejoice at your successes. Most of these achievements are owed to the hard work of Belarusian leader, President Alexander Grigoryevic Lukashenko. Under his leadership, Belarus had achieved great success.”
President Ilham Aliyev also talked about the prospects of Azerbaijan-Belarus bilateral relations. “We rejoice at your achievements, as your close friends. From our side, we do our best to bring deep substance to all the fields we intend to develop in our bilateral relations. I am confident we will achieve all our purposes. In any case, the history of development of our relations and the recent dynamics of these relations are great evidences of our confidence.”
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Having thanked his Azerbaijani counterpart for praising the two countries` relations, President Alexander Lukashenko mentioned the great development processes he had witnessed since his last visit to Baku: “I would like to start by saying that yesterday, late at night, when I arrived in Baku – the city I haven’t visited for the last three years, I was mesmerized by the beauty of the city at night. Everyone felt the same way.”
The Belarusian President hailed President Ilham Aliyev`s role in ensuring Azerbaijan`s all-round development and its overall achievements: “It is seen in every kilometer and every meter of Your lands. I am sure that only a person, who is dedicated not only to his job, but also to his nation, and who wishes his people prosperity could carry out reconstruction works on this level and change the image of the capital and the country in general.”
President Alexander Lukashenko wished the Azerbaijani people prosperity and happy future: “I saw some happy, friendly young people in the boulevard yesterday evening. All Azerbaijanis will be happy and friendly. We, Belarusians, wish you this. I can assure you that we even rejoice at your most trivial achievements. On top of everything, we will watch your achievements fervidly and wish you happiness, because your strength and happiness will be our strength and happiness as your reliable friends.”
