President Aliyev receives participants of Baku Int’l Humanitarian Forum (UPDATE)
By Aynur Jafarova
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received former Bulgarian leader Georgi Parvanov on October 31, Azertag state news agency reported.
The Head of State hailed the participation of the former Bulgarian president in the Third Baku International Humanitarian Forum as important.
President Aliyev stressed that interest in the annual forum in on the rise.
The Head of State expressed hope that the third Forum in Baku would hear fruitful discussions over expansion of cooperation.
Parvanov, in turn, congratulated Ilham Aliyev on his victory in the presidential election, praising his election for the third term as a testimony of the Azerbaijani people's support of the policy carried out by President Aliyev.
He expressed confidence that bonds between the two countries would continue to develop in an active and fruitful manner.
Parvanov said that he was happy to attend the International Humanitarian Forum in Baku again.
President Aliyev praised Parvanov's contribution to boosting relationship between Bulgaria and Azerbaijan.
The Head of State recalled Parvanov's visits to Azerbaijan, saying these visits played a key role in building a new format of relationship between the two countries.
President Aliyev also received former Croatian President Stjepan Mesic.
Mesic congratulated the Head of State on his victory in the October 9 presidential election.
The former Croatian leader said cooperation between the two countries had been rapidly developing in recent years.
President Aliyev noted there was good potential for development of the Azerbaijan-Croatia relations in a variety of fields, particularly economic one.
The Head of State stressed the importance of activities of Croatian companies in Azerbaijan in terms of expansion of the bilateral cooperation.
The sides also noted the Third Baku International Humanitarian Forum would contribute to enhancing international cooperation even further.
The president also received former President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), chairman of the Azerbaijan-Netherlands Friendship Society Rene van der Linden.
Mr Rene van der Linden congratulated the Head of State on his re-election in the presidential election.
They stressed the importance of the Forum in terms of strengthening humanitarian and cultural relations among states and people.
During the conversation, President Aliyev and Mr Rene van der Linden said there were ample opportunities for expansion of economic, business and educational cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Netherlands.
They also noted successful operation of the Dutch companies in Azerbaijan.
On the same day, President Aliyev and his spouse, head of the Azerbaijan-France interparliamentary friendship group Mehriban Aliyeva met a group of French MPs and senators.
The French delegation congratulated the Head of State on his re-election in the presidential election.
They noted the Forum would contribute to expanding relations among countries in a variety of fields.
They said relations between Azerbaijan and France had been developing successfully in a range of fields, particularly political and economic ones.
They hailed the role of interparliamentary friendship groups' cooperation in strengthening relations between the two countries even further.
They expressed confidence that the Azerbaijan-France ties would continue to enhance.
Later, President Aliyev received Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri.
The ISESCO Director General congratulated the Head of State on his confident victory in the presidential election.
They hailed the Forum as another favorable opportunity for holding discussions on global ongoing processes in cultural and humanitarian fields.
They also praised cooperation between Azerbaijan and the ISESCO, noting these ties would continue to expand even further.
Also, the Azerbaijani president received former Serbian leader Boris Tadic.
Tadic congratulated the Head of State on his re-election in the presidential election.
They stressed the importance of the Forum in terms of expanding dialogue among states and people.
They also noted bilateral ties between Azerbaijan and Serbia had been developing successfully in a variety of fields, expressing confidence that these ties will continue to enhance even further.
President Aliyev also received former Latvian President Valdis Zatlers.
Zatlers congratulated President Aliyev on his victory in the presidential election.
They stressed the importance of the Forum in terms of enhancing intercultural dialogue. They also praised development of bilateral relations between the two countries, saying there was great potential for expansion of these ties.
On the same day, President Aliyev received former Estonian President Arnold Ruutel.
Ruutel also congratulated the Head of State on his victory in the presidential elections.
During the meeting, the parties said the forum created a good opportunity to discuss how to expand cooperation.
They hailed development of bilateral ties between Azerbaijan and Estonia in a variety of fields.
The sides expressed confidence that the Azerbaijan-Estonia relations would continue to enhance even further.
President Aliyev also received former Romanian President Emil Constantinescu.
Constantinescu congratulated the Head of State on his victory in the presidential elections.
They stressed the importance of the forum, which brings together public and scientific figures from across the world, in terms of expanding cooperation among countries.
They hailed development of the Azerbaijan-Romania relations in a variety of fields, as well as within international organizations.
The Azerbaijani president and the former Romanian leader expressed confidence that the bilateral relationship between the two countries would continue to strengthen.