Azernews.Az

BELGRAD – Azerbaijan signed slew of agreements on cooperation with Serbia in a number of fields as President Ilham Aliyev started his visit to the country on Wednesday.

The 12 agreements, signed in conclusion of President Aliyev’s talks with his Serbian counterpart Boris Tadic, cover emergency relief, customs, education, culture, youth and sports, environmental protection, investment promotion, agriculture, tourism, transport, energy, and aviation.

During the two leaders’ talks, the parties stressed the expanding political, economic and cultural relations between Azerbaijan and Serbia and the importance of reciprocal visits for boosting ties.

President Tadic called Azerbaijan "an important partner" for his country. He emphasized the need to strengthen ties between the two countries in the political, economic, cultural and humanitarian fields.

Tadic said his country was interested in the participation of Azerbaijani companies in infrastructure projects in Serbia and other fields, including agriculture. He said Serbia was keen on using Azerbaijan’s transport and transit potential.

President Aliyev told the press after meeting his Serbian counterpart that bilateral relations have become "more dynamic and effective" over the past few years.

"Our dialogue is strategic. Our relations are multifaceted," Aliyev said.

The Azerbaijani leader noted that both countries are suffering from separatism, and Azerbaijan supports Serbia’s territorial integrity within all international organizations.

Aliyev thanked the Serbian government for its fair stance on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh conflict, expressing confidence that the territorial integrity of both countries will be restored.

President Tadic, for his part, said Serbia-Azerbaijan political relations "are being upgraded to a strategic level".

He stressed the commonalities between the two countries, referring to the Nagorno Karabakh and Kosovo conflicts. Tadic stated that Serbia recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

The Serbian leader thanked President Aliyev for his stance on the Kosovo problem.

Three monuments will be unveiled during the Azerbaijani president’s visit to Belgrade. The memorials eternalize Azerbaijan’s late President Heydar Aliyev, well-known Serbian writer Milorad Pavic and outstanding Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibayov.