In Belgrade, the 1st meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council between Azerbaijan and Serbia was held

On February 15 in Belgrade, with the participation of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, the 1st meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Serbia was held.

As reported by BAKU.WS, the President of the Republic of Serbia spoke first.

Speech by President Aleksandar Vučić

- It is a great honor for me to open the first meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Today's meeting and Council session have special symbolic significance, as they take place on the most significant day for the Republic of Serbia - the national holiday Statehood Day, which we celebrate together with our closest friends - President Ilham Aliyev and our guests from Azerbaijan.

This meeting is a turning point in our bilateral relations and a vivid testament to the joint political will to elevate relations between our countries to the highest strategic level. Allow me to remind you that this Council arose from a shared vision and agreement with my dear friend, President Ilham Aliyev. The Republic of Serbia holds meetings in this format with only a few countries.

Allow me to especially emphasize that the presence of President Aliyev, as well as high-ranking officials and ministers from both the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Serbia, clearly demonstrates the importance that both sides attach to this Council. I am convinced that our work today will be aimed at achieving concrete results, clear agreements, and a vision for long-term cooperation. I will shorten my opening speech and ask, at least, the Serbian ministers to do the same, since we cannot delay the press statements. I ask you to respect this. I would like to add just a few words.

Dear friend, Mr. President, and dear friends from Azerbaijan, we are determined to develop the best strategic partnership with our friendly country - Azerbaijan. And we will dedicate ourselves to this, which means we will work diligently to improve our relations in all different areas, in all different spheres. And, as always happens with friends, when we encounter some obstacles, some problems, we can always resolve them. And what will never disappear is our aspiration for friendship, for creating better relations, and for faster and stronger interaction with each other.

In the near future, we will open a direct flight between Belgrade and Baku, which will connect us much better than in the past. At the same time, in all different areas, from culture and sports to economics, agriculture, industry, and military-technical cooperation, I am absolutely confident that we will achieve the maximum level of possible relations between any two countries in the world. And I would like to add one more thing. I have learned a lot from Ilham Aliyev, from my dear friend, not just today. That is why I spent more time with him today than expected. I always take this opportunity to learn even more from him. And I plan to continue doing so in the future. I know that he is a very devoted friend. I know that we can expect a lot of good from Azerbaijan, and I believe that the Azerbaijani people can always expect only good from Serbia and the Serbian people. I ask you, Serbian ministers, to show the same diligence and be as devoted as our Azerbaijani colleagues. I wish you success in your work.

I am going to visit Azerbaijan again soon. And before that, we need to achieve many results. I discussed with President Aliyev, in particular, the issue of the gas power plant in Dubravka. And I asked the President to personally participate in resolving this issue, because I was extremely honest with him in the context of what we can do and what we cannot do. And I received guarantees from Mr. President that he will personally provide enormous assistance on this matter. And after the completion of this preliminary feasibility study, we need to accelerate all other procedures.

Dear friends from Azerbaijan, please feel at home here in Serbia. You are always welcome guests. Dear Mr. President, I wish you, your family, your people, and your country all the best, and I also hope to host you here as often as possible. This should happen even more often. Once again, thank you very much and from the bottom of my heart, welcome to Serbia. Thank you.

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Then the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan spoke.

Speech by President Ilham Aliyev

- Thank you, dear Mr. President, dear friends. First of all, thank you for the invitation. I am very glad to visit Serbia again. And I am also grateful to my friend Aleksandar for giving me time not only on Sunday but also on the national holiday. And, by the way, I congratulate you on Statehood Day.

This very fact truly demonstrates the level of openness between us, the absence of boundaries between us, time constraints, any doubts when it comes to our friendship and strengthening our cooperation.

I had thorough negotiations with my friend the president. As always, I was very impressed by his vision, knowledge, and experience in various aspects of the current geopolitical situation in the Balkans and the Caucasus. The broader region is developing at a very rapid pace, and many unexpected scenarios are emerging. Therefore, we must be prepared and must also maintain constant contact to exchange opinions, information, and analytical data about what is happening in order to achieve our goal at the maximum level.

By the way, today is Statehood Day - a day when we reflect on statehood. And I want to congratulate the Serbian people and the president on the achievements in strengthening Serbian statehood. The country is successfully developing under the leadership of the president, strengthening its statehood, its state institutions. And we are very glad to observe this, as Azerbaijan and Serbia are very friendly countries. And today's first meeting of the Strategic Council is also a wonderful illustration that the decisions made and agreements reached are being implemented. Today I am accompanied by almost half of the government members. This in itself demonstrates that there are many issues to discuss between the delegation members, between all of us. And before my friend Aleksandar's visit to Azerbaijan, which will take place this year, we need to already have the results of today's visit. I ask all members of the Azerbaijani delegation to treat this with maximum seriousness so that, as always, what we have agreed upon is implemented in a relatively short time.

Aleksandar has already identified the areas of partnership. And indeed, the action program, as well as the agenda of today's meeting and the speeches of the relevant ministers, show a consistent expansion of the agenda. We not only cooperate closely at the political level, in the international arena, but also implement economically and industrially significant projects for our countries. President Vučić mentioned the construction of a power plant. I think this is an important indicator of the diversification of our cooperation in the energy sector. We started with cooperation in the gas sector, and now we are moving to the next stage - the possibility of using this gas with maximum efficiency for both countries, to transform it into the final product - electrical energy. And this will be one of the largest Azerbaijani investments in Europe in recent years. This also demonstrates a high level of mutual trust, because investments are made in a country with which good relations are maintained, which is trusted. You know that the stability and development of Serbia under the wise leadership of Aleksandar Vučić will be an important factor for a long time. Given that we still need to make time for press statements, I would also like to limit my comments to what I have already said and give our teams the opportunity to make their presentations. Once again, thank you for the hospitality and invitation.

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At the meeting, the chairmen of the intergovernmental commissions and other relevant ministers presented reports.

Issues of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Serbia in the fields