President: Slovakia and Azerbaijan Friendly Countries and Strategic Partners
Bratislava, 8 December (TASR) - Slovakia and Azerbaijan are friendly countries and strategic partners, and they want to further deepen their mutual relations and cooperation in the future, Slovak President Peter Pellegrini and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev told a joint press conference following their meeting in Bratislava on Monday.
The meeting took place on the occasion of the first-ever official visit by an Azerbaijani head of state to Slovakia.
"Today's meeting took place in a very open and friendly atmosphere, as the Slovak Republic considers Azerbaijan to be a friendly country with which it maintains good relations. Slovakia views Azerbaijan as a country that is a strategic player in the region," noted Pellegrini.
The Slovak head of state pointed out that Azerbaijan is the strongest economy in the South Caucasus, lies at a crossroads between Europe and Asia, and is a country with rich energy resources. "I'm very pleased that our trade and economic cooperation is growing significantly, and today, together with the president and both delegations, we've confirmed that the potential is very great," he said. According to him, both delegations also confirmed their interest in developing a strategic partnership between the countries.
Mutual cooperation should be intensified in several areas, including defence, energy, modern technologies, tourism, and culture. Pellegrini explained that Azerbaijan, along with other countries, can play a key role in diversifying oil and gas supplies. He believes that expert teams from both countries will continue to discuss ways to utilise Azerbaijan's energy capacity. Aliyev declared that Azerbaijan is ready to supply Slovakia with any amount of gas at any time, if necessary.
In the area of defence, Pellegrini highlighted the Slovak defence industry and the boom in the production of various types of ammunition, with which the country also wants to cooperate with Azerbaijan. "We want to work in a format of our technology and Azerbaijani financing; that is, to move part of the production directly to Azerbaijan and act as partners and jointly compete for the sale of these products on the market," explained Pellegrini. "We can use Slovak technologies and financial resources from Azerbaijan, which we can combine to come up with new products that we'll be able to offer on international markets," added the Azerbaijani president.
Pellegrini also believes that it will be possible to attract more Slovak investment to Azerbaijan and establish a direct flight connection between Azerbaijan's capital Baku and Bratislava. He also congratulated Azerbaijan on concluding peace with Armenia.
Aliyev confirmed that Slovakia and Azerbaijan are friendly countries and strategic partners. "This official visit will provide a specific impetus for developing our future relations," he stated, adding that teams from both countries are already actively working in all the areas mentioned. "Representatives of both our governments have been instructed to further enhance our cooperation," he said, praising Slovakia's foreign policy, which he described as independent.
Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) and Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) also attended Monday's meeting at the Presidential Palace. Afterwards, the heads of state moved on to lay wreaths at the Gate of Freedom memorial and tour Devin Castle.
On Tuesday (9 December), Aliyev is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and Parliamentary Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD).
