Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who is visiting Davos in Switzerland to attend the 44th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, took part in the session titled "Eurasia: The Next Frontier?" on January 23.

The session, most of whose participants attended the World Economic Forum Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the South Caucasus and Central Asia in Baku last year, addressed several dimensions, including diversifying the region's economic base, fostering inclusion in global supply chains, and enhancing cross-border trade.

The Head of State addressed the session and then responded to questions from the audience.

As part of his Davos visit, President Aliyev also met Executive Vice President and Chief Market Leader of Philips Ronald de Jong.

They highlighted reforms carried out in Azerbaijan, and hailed conditions for fruitful activity of investors.

President Aliyev and Ronald de Jong discussed prospects for building cooperation between Azerbaijan and Philips.

Also, President Aliyev met Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte.

They hailed development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the Netherlands in the fields of politics and economy.

The President and the PM said there was good potential for implementation of active economic cooperation between the two countries.

They noted the investment making contributed to strengthening economic bonds, and stressed the importance of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Netherlands in international organizations.

The sides also exchanged views on other issues of mutual concern.

Later, President Aliyev met Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab.

They hailed cooperation between Azerbaijan and the World Economic Forum, adding there are ample opportunities for developing this cooperation.

President Aliyev and Klaus Schwab discussed ways to develop relations between the country and the Forum.

As part of the visit, President Aliyev also met Swiss counterpart Didier Burkhalter. They hailed development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Switzerland.

The presidents said there was big potential for cooperation in the fields of politics, economy, energy, investment making, as well as the banking sector.

They noted that Azerbaijan's rapid economic development created good opportunity for enhancing the bonds between the two countries.

The two presidents expressed confidence that mutual investments would be further expanded.

Presidents Aliyev and Didier Burkhalter also discussed the current state of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Also, President Aliyev met member of the Board of Directors of Hewlett-Packard Ann Livermore.They hailed bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and the company.

President Aliyev and Ann Livermore discussed prospects for cooperation in executing Data Center and other projects in Azerbaijan.

Later, the President met CEO of GDF Suez Gerard Mestrallet.

They noted there were good prospects for cooperation between Azerbaijan and France in a variety of fields, and hailed the role of the GDF Suez in development of these ties.

President Aliyev and Gerard Mestrallet also praised the activity of GDF Suez on the Absheron gas field, and discussed issues of cooperation in other areas.

Also, President Aliyev met his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani.

They stressed the existence of common historical and cultural roots between Azerbaijan and Iran.

The presidents said there were wide opportunities for development of neighborhood and friendly relations between the two countries and peoples.

The Azerbaijani and Iranian presidents expressed confidence that cooperation between the two countries would continue to expand in various fields, including politics, economy, energy and culture.

During the conversation, Presidents Aliyev and Rouhani expressed confidence that both sides would increase their efforts for strengthening bilateral ties and regional cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran.

They also discussed defining the concrete directions for expansion of the bilateral bonds even further.

President Aliyev has met President of Microsoft International Jean-Philippe Courtois in Davos.

They noted cooperation between Azerbaijan and Microsoft International has been developing successfully, and also hailed the company`s activity and its projects in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan`s work to ensure software and intellectual property protection was praised at the meeting as well.

During the conversation, the role of Azerbaijan`s government in protection of Microsoft software copyright was stressed.