Azernews.Az

The Azerbaijani and Georgian leaders praised multi-lateral relations between the two South Caucasus neighbors after their talks in Baku on Tuesday, which also focused on bilateral projects as well as the situation in the volatile region.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said cooperation between the two countries is successfully developing and they enjoy "full understanding" and mutual support in all areas, including politics, economics and energy, the Azerbaijani president’s press service said.

Aliyev expressed confidence that his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili’s visit to Azerbaijan would promote expansion of bilateral relations and outlining ways of further developing these fraternal ties.

Saakashvili praised Azerbaijan’s rapid development.

"Indeed, every time you come to Baku, you get amazed not only at progress but also the rampant development of Azerbaijan," he said.

The Georgian president noted that as early as during his first visit to Azerbaijan, he witnessed that the country "is on the path of development" under President Aliyev’s leadership.

Saakashvili recalled that Azerbaijan was elected a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2012-2013 with the support of 155 countries in October 2011, terming this as "an absolute record" and "an achievement of global scale".

"This demonstrates the road covered by Azerbaijan as a major regional leader -- both domestically and in the international arena -- and its economic clout and political standing," Saakashvili said.

He said the development of Azerbaijan’s regions, along with the capital Baku, and overall, the country’s economy, including the non-oil sector, prompts "envy" and Georgia is "happy" with it.

Saakashvili added that Georgian-Azerbaijani cooperation is "exemplary" thanks to President Aliyev’s efforts.

The two countries signed two agreements during Saakashvili’s visit – a memorandum on cooperation between their statistics bodies and an inter-governmental agreement on sports collaboration.

"Georgia and Azerbaijan will be together for many years to come," President Aliyev said after the signing. He lauded Tbilisi and Baku’s mutual support on the world stage, regarding it as "sincere" and "significant".