Azernews.Az

Following the official welcoming ceremony, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and his spouse, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva met with Pope Francis.

Pope Francis expressed gratitude to President Aliyev for the warm welcome. President Aliyev said he is glad to greet Pope Francis in Azerbaijan.

“Your visit to Azerbaijan is a historic visit,” said Ilham Aliyev and expressed gratitude to the Pope for accepting his invitation and visiting Azerbaijan.

“I hope that you will return to your homeland with good impressions. Your visit is very important for the relations between Vatican and Azerbaijan and for the dialogue among civilizations,” said Ilham Aliyev.

President Aliyev noted that representatives of all religions live in Azerbaijan as one family, in peace and good neighborliness.

Pope Francis said all religious freedoms have been ensured in Azerbaijan. He mentioned that currently, moral and cultural wealth is of great importance particularly in European countries.

“Currently, this is an important factor for people. Thereby, we can talk about the fruitfulness of our relations,” said Pope Francis.

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