BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec. 18
Trend:
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky have made press statements Dec. 17, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Presidential press service.
President Ilham Aliyev made the statement first.
Then President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky made the statement.
Statement of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky
- Dear Mr. President, dear media representatives!
Mr. President, first of all, let me express my gratitude to you for this invitation. We are paying a visit to your beautiful country. Thank you for your hospitality!
Our relations have stood the test of time. We have always been a support to each other in difficult times. Azerbaijan has always been a reliable friend and an important strategic partner for Ukraine, and it is still the case now.
Mr. President, as you have already noted, we completed our discussions. Both in our one-on-one meeting and in the expanded meeting, our conversations were very warm. Mr. President and I discussed ways of strengthening of our partnership not in words but in deeds. Particular attention was paid to the economic sphere. I am sure that the opening of trading houses in both countries will also give this impetus. It is known that the Trade House of Azerbaijan has been operating in Ukraine since 2018, and today I will participate in the opening of the Trade House of Ukraine in Azerbaijan. Congratulations to all of you on this occasion!
Along with this, an Azerbaijani-Ukrainian business forum will be held in Baku today. I am sure that the business circles of our countries will discuss various issues of mutual interest and achieve specific results.
I am sure that mutual investments serve the interests of both countries. We can talk about various joint projects here. For example, a good example is the acquisition by Azerbaijan’s mobile operator “Bakcell” of Vodafone Ukraine shares. This will help us increase the level of our services in this area. Along with this, I also invite Azerbaijani companies to actively participate in the privatization process in Ukraine. SOCAR has been successfully operating in Ukraine for 10 years. And we will do our best to provide all possible support for the production and transportation of oil and gas products.
Our country also monitors the Southern Gas Corridor project. We discussed our contribution to expanding this project and bringing it to European consumers. In particular, I believe that both Ukraine and Azerbaijan have incredible transport potential. We decided to strengthen our contacts and cooperation in the field of transport and air transportation. Before the end of January next year, we will organize a meeting of the bilateral intergovernmental commission in Kiev.
Particular attention was paid to cooperation in the aerospace field. We discussed issues in various fields, in the aircraft industry, as well as in the humanitarian sphere. Days of Ukrainian cinema will be organized in Azerbaijan. You, too, have witnessed the fact that several documents have been signed here – documents related to business development, protection of confidential data and encouraging cooperation between various regions of Ukraine and the regions of Azerbaijan.
Of course, the focus of our conversation today was on issues of national and regional security. We discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the conflict in eastern Ukraine. We support each other in the issue of restoring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our countries. We are talking about the restoration of internationally recognized borders. From this point of view, this principle covers our cooperation both at the bilateral level and within the framework of international organizations. This is an indicator of the level of relations between our countries. We advocate a single position both at the regional and global levels. I wish Azerbaijan a successful presidency in GUAM in 2020.
Mr. President, as you noted, this is my first official visit to your country. This visit has just begun, but I am already sure that it will be an indicator of a new level of our cooperation. I am sure that the visit will serve the further development of our potential. Thank you!