Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who is on a working visit to Switzerland, has held a number of meetings with representatives of various government and companies.

President Aliyev arrived in Switzerland on January 21 to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, AzerTag news agency reported.

On the same day, the Azerbaijani president has met Mohammad Nahavandian, head of the Administration of the Iranian President.

The bilateral ties between the two countries were praised at the meeting. It was noted that these relations have successfully developed in all areas since the last meeting of the Azerbaijani and Iranian presidents in Davos.

The sides stressed that recent fruitful discussions of the heads of state on the development of the bilateral relations yield positive results. It was emphasized that the two countries were successfully cooperating and supporting each other within international organizations.

They widely discussed prospects for the development of the cooperation in a variety of fields, including energy, mutual investment making, oil, tourism and healthcare.

As part of his visit President Aliyev met Jean-Pierre Talamoni, CEO of the Airbus Group International on January 22.

The sides exchanged views on the current state and prospects of cooperation between Azerbaijan and France in the field of space industry. They also discussed the issues related to the expansion of cooperation between Azerbaijan Airlines CJSC and Airbus Group International.

President Aliyev also met Maros Sefcovic, European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union in Davos.

They highlighted successful cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union in various areas, including in the field of energy. The sides stressed the importance of the increasing role of Azerbaijan in ensuring the energy security of Europe, and the significance of the Southern Gas Corridor in this regard.

The sides discussed the issues related to the first meeting of the advisory council for the Southern Gas Corridor to be held in Baku, and exchanged views on the current state and prospects of cooperation.

Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Swiss Re Global Partnerships was discussed during a meeting of President Aliyev and Martyn Parker, Chairman of Global Partnerships at Swiss Re AG.

Expressing satisfaction with the expansion of cooperation, the sides exchanged views on the Memorandum of Understanding on the organization of insurance related to the prevention of emergency situations in the country, which was drawn as a result of the company`s meetings with several state bodies in Azerbaijan – the ministries of Finance, Emergency Situations, Agriculture, Ecology and National Resources - after the meeting with President Ilham Aliyev last year.

Parker thanked the Azerbaijani president for his support on this front, and expressed confidence that this work would be continued.

President Aliyev also met Herman Gref, CEO of Sberbank of Russia in Davos.

Gref said development processes in Azerbaijan were watched with interest, adding the country enjoyed successful cooperation with relevant financial and banking institutions.

Noting that Azerbaijan became an attractive country in terms of investment making thanks to rapid development of economy, Gref expressed confidence that fruitful cooperation between Sberbank and relevant institutions in Azerbaijan would continue.

During the meeting, President Aliyev highlighted ongoing economic development processes in Azerbaijan, saying the country is carrying out important reforms in the banking, financial and energy systems, and pursuing successful policy in the field of investment.

He emphasized the significance of the creation of favorable conditions for investment making in Azerbaijan, noting that Azerbaijan is also making investment in foreign countries. President Aliyev said Azerbaijan`s financial institutions enjoyed fruitful cooperation with Sberbank. He expressed confidence that this cooperation would continue.

On the same day, President Aliyev met Kommer Damen, Chairman of Dutch Damen Shipyards Group in Davos.

The sides noted that fruitful cooperation had already begun between Damen Shipyards Group and relevant bodies in Azerbaijan.

Damen expressed his company`s interest in the production of military, civilian and service ships in Azerbaijan.

The parties exchanged views on cooperation prospects.

Later, President Aliyev met President of the Swiss Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga.

The parties noted that relations between the two countries were developing successfully in a variety of fields. It was said the two countries enjoyed productive relations in the economic area, and that there was good potential for the expansion of cooperation.

The sides stressed the importance of Swiss companies’ investments in Azerbaijan, the energy cooperation, as well as the activity of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan in Switzerland.

During the conversation, the parties stressed the significance of a further expansion of economic cooperation. It was noted that the projects to be jointly implemented by Azerbaijan and Switzerland will be mutually beneficial. They discussed the issues related to the cultural cooperation.

The sides also exchanged views on prospects of bilateral relations and other issues of mutual interest.

President Aliyev has also met Shimon Peres, former President of Israel in Davos.

The sides expressed their satisfaction with the development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Israel. They exchanged views on the current state and prospects of cooperation in the field of economy and relations in the intercultural dialogue.

On the same day, President Aliyev also met George Soros, founder of the Soros Foundation in Davos. The sides exchanged views over ongoing development processes in Azerbaijan.

The importance of the Southern Gas Corridor in ensuring the European energy security and Azerbaijan`s role in this area were highly appreciated during the meeting of President Aliyev with Robert Dudley, BP Group Chief Executive.

The sides expressed confidence that successful cooperation between BP and Azerbaijan would be continued.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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