BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 2. Our lands were occupied by Armenia, and during all these years of occupation we always felt the support of our Arab brothers, we felt the support of member states of the Organization of Islamic States, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said addressing the 31st Arab League Summit in Algiers, Trend reports.
"Relationship between the Arab League and Azerbaijan has special dimension. This summer I had an honor to receive Secretary General Mr. Aboul Gheit in Baku. We had broad discussions about our future cooperation. Since 2006 Azerbaijan is an observer to the organization and we want to expand our cooperation. Today I participate at the Summit as the chair of Non-Aligned Movement but, at the same time, we have very profound relationship with the member states of Arab League. And I am sure that in the coming years our cooperation will grow, we will have new dimension and new dynamics. We pay a special importance to bilateral cooperation with the members of Arab League and we highly value the mutual support and solidarity between us. Azerbaijan is a country which also suffered like Algeria from occupation for 30 years. Our lands were occupied by Armenia, and during all these years of occupation we always felt the support of our Arab brothers, we felt the support of member states of the Organization of Islamic States. Azerbaijan, in its turn, always in all international fora supported our Muslim brothers. We contributed largely to Islamic Solidarity. 2017 was declared in Azerbaijan the year of Islamic Solidarity and we hosted the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games which transformed into a sporting event, into a festival of solidarity and friendship," the head of state said.