Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 7 / Trend /
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has today received a NATO delegation led by Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
The Azerbaijani leader said the NATO Secretary General`s visit would be fruitful in terms of discussing the current state of and prospects for the cooperation between the country and the organization.
President Ilham Aliyev praised the Azerbaijan-NATO relations, saying they were developing successfully on different fronts.
The Head of State recalled his last visit to the NATO headquarters and his meetings with representatives of the diplomatic corps, as well as his New York visit when Azerbaijan chaired the UN Security Council, and his participation in the NATO`s Chicago Summit. He stressed the importance of the discussions held during the visits.
President Ilham Aliyev emphasized Azerbaijan`s contribution to NATO`s peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, as well as its role as a transit country for the transit of goods to Afghanistan, and the Azerbaijan`s successful cooperation within the Partnership for Peace Programme.
The Head of State reaffirmed Azerbaijan would continue its contribution to the cooperation with NATO.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen congratulated President Ilham Aliyev on Azerbaijan`s successfully hosting the Eurovision song contest, and Azerbaijani athletes` achievements at recent London Summer Olympic Games.
The NATO Secretary General praised development processes in Azerbaijan, and the country`s growing influence on the international scene.
He hailed Azerbaijan`s contribution - both direct and through transit - to the Afghan peacekeeping mission.
The Azerbaijani leader and the NATO Secretary General exchanged views over a wide range of other issues of mutual interest, including regional security and stability, and energy cooperation.
