President Ilham Aliyev received delegation led by chairman of Standing Committee of National People's Congress of China
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has today received a delegation led by the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Li Zhanshu.
Greeting members of the delegation, President Ilham Aliyev said:
- Mr. President, distinguished guests, I am happy to welcome you to Azerbaijan. Welcome to our country. We attach great importance to your visit. I am confident that the visit will be a success and will contribute to the further development and deepening of our bilateral relations. We are very pleased that friendly relations between our countries are developing successfully, covering new areas and having very good prospects for the future.
As you know, I've made numerous state, official and business trips to your country. My last visit was in April this year as part of the "One Belt, One Road" Conference. As part of the event, I met with Mr. Xi Jinping, Chairman. At this meeting, we discussed our relationship in detail and identified prospects for future cooperation. The high level of political relations creates a good basis for the development of relations in other areas as well. We are pleased with the significant increase in trade between our countries. We are happy that new contracts are being signed. During my last visit to your country, 10 contracts were signed. We are glad that Chinese companies are interested in investment projects in Azerbaijan, as well as working in various fields under the signed agreements. We already have good results in energy, transport and humanitarian areas. We are happy that the goods from the People's Republic of China are transported to the world markets through Azerbaijan. As I said, commodity turnover is growing, as well as exports from Azerbaijan to your country and from us to you.
I would also like to note that we are pleased with the increase in the number of tourists from China to Azerbaijan under the simplified visa regime. Of course, speaking of transport cooperation, I would like to emphasize that we have created a modern transport infrastructure in Azerbaijan capable of transporting large volumes of goods. I would also like to note our active cooperation within international organizations. Mutual support of our countries creates good conditions for development of relations in all directions. I would like to emphasize the relations within the framework of parliamentary diplomacy. Interparliamentary relations between our countries are of great importance, and your visit to Azerbaijan reaffirms this. I wish you a good time in our country and would like to welcome you again in Azerbaijan.
x x x
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Li Zhanshu, said:
- Allow me first to convey to you the warmest greetings and best wishes of your old friend Xi Jinping. In recent years, President Xi Jinping has had a number of bilateral and multilateral meetings with you. Together, you are contributing to the high level of Chinese-Azerbaijani relations. At the same time, you have created very good business relationships and strong personal friendships. I believe that thanks to your foresight and strategic direction, the Chinese-Azerbaijani relations are developing strong, healthy and stable. Thus, our relations have become exemplary interstate relations. In April this year, President Xi Jinpin invited you to the second summit, "One Belt , One Road." I would like to emphasize that you were the only head of state invited to the South Caucasus. During the summit, you had a traditional meeting with Xi Jinping. Together, you have identified the ambitious plans for the future development of China-Azerbaijan relations. You have laid the groundwork for further strengthening of the relations between our countries.
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Li Zhanshu said the national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev had laid the foundations of modern Azerbaijani statehood and today, political leadership in the country is under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev. He expressed his congratulations on the great achievements in the socio-economic sphere in our country.
The sides expressed confidence that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner of China and that our cooperation will continue to develop dynamically. The two sides exchanged views on the development of trade turnover, development of cooperation in transport, industry, information and communication technologies, agriculture, science, education and other areas. They touched upon the cooperation of our countries within the project "One Belt, One Road" initiated by China. The modern transportation infrastructure, capable of transporting large volumes of cargo in Azerbaijan, the transportation of Chinese goods through the world to Azerbaijan has been considered as a good indicator of our cooperation in the field of transport.
