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President Ilham Aliyev: "Our relations with France are important"

13 March 2017 18:45 (UTC +04:00)

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with members of the business council of Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF) in Paris, APA reports.

Vice-President of the Movement of the Enterprises of France Debon noted that such events play an important role in the development of relations between Azerbaijan and French companies. She stressed that representatives of dozens of companies attended at the meeting expressing confidence that the event would be fruitful.

President Ilham Aliyev said that he was glad to be again in MEDEF. Stating that many projects have been successfully implemented so far, the Head of State stressed that large investments have been invested in the Azerbaijani economy within the framework of this cooperation. President Ilham Aliyev said that French companies are interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan. This is due to the fact that Azerbaijan has created a favorable business environment for investment. Noting the wide geography of ties between French companies and Azerbaijan, the Head of State said that our country, which became a member of the space family a few years ago, achieved this through cooperation with French companies. Touching upon the fruitful cooperation with the French companies and in the agricultural sphere, President Ilham Aliyev said that the French Lyceum and the University are functioning in Baku and the relations between our countries in the field of education are successfully developing.

Informing on successful implementation of deep economic reforms in Azerbaijan, the Head of State said that measures are being taken to reduce dependence on oil and to develop other sectors of the economy. He noted that Azerbaijan uses the experience of developed countries and this strategy is applied in all sectors of the economy.

President Ilham Aliyev also touched upon the Armenian-Azerbaijani, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as a result of which more than a million Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced persons. The president has stressed that large-scale projects are being implemented in our country related to improving the living conditions of people in this category. The Head of State said that as a result of the conflict, in addition to Nagorno-Karabakh, seven more districts were occupied.

Touching upon the significance of the Southern Gas Corridor project, the Head of State noted that Azerbaijan plays a leading role in the implementation of the largest investment project in Europe. The Azerbaijani President said that this project is a new source of gas for consumers. President Ilham Aliyev stressed that Azerbaijan, which plays the role of a bridge between Europe and Asia, occupies important positions in cargo transportation. He expressed the importance of the trilateral format Azerbaijan-Iran-Russia in this issue adding the construction of a sea port in Baku as well.

“Our relations with France are important,” said President Ilham Aliyev, stressing that French presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande visited Baku. The Head of State stressed that business ties are of great importance for bilateral relations.