His Holiness Pope Francis

Your Holiness,

On behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own, I would like to sincerely congratulate you on being elected the Pope of Rome.

Possessing a long tradition of tolerance, Azerbaijan is a country where people practicing different religions and beliefs live in an atmosphere of kindness and mutual respect. I do hope that our sincere dialogue aimed at maintaining peace and stability in the world, the establishment of mutual understanding, support and solidarity among people will be consistently continued.

From this perspective, the current level of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Holy See aimed at promoting tolerance and dialogue between civilizations and religions is reassuring.

I wish you good health, a long life and every success in your high mission in the name of universal values and sacred ideas, and peace and prosperity to your co-religionists.

Sincerely,

Ilham Aliyev 
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Baku, 15 March 2013