A meeting of the First Interstate Council of Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan in a limited format has been held with the participation of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov in Bishkek.

Making a speech at the meeting, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov said:

- Dear Ilham Heydar oglu, I am very pleased to be meeting with you again, this time in the hospitable land of Kyrgyzstan. I am also glad to have the opportunity to discuss issues of Kyrgyz-Azerbaijani cooperation. I recall my visit to Azerbaijan with great pleasure. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for the hospitality you extended to me and members of our delegation in Baku in April this year.

We attach great importance to your state visit, as it demonstrates the true relationship of strategic partnership between our fraternal countries. The friendship of our peoples is based on long-term trusting and good relations, tested by time and history. This year our countries celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation. In three months, we have a new anniversary - the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. We have reached this date with good results. Our cooperation has reached the level of strategic partnership.

It is gratifying that the dynamically strengthening and expanding ties have led to active interaction between the parliaments, governments and sectoral departments of our countries. A number of our April agreements have been implemented through a joint intergovernmental commission, a Business Council has been created, we will jointly open schools named after Heydar Aliyev, Nizami Ganjavi and the Friendship Park of Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan. I am sure that your visit and the meeting of the Interstate Council will give a new impetus to bilateral relations. This will be a clear indicator of the active development of our cooperation in the political, trade and investment, cultural and humanitarian spheres. I specifically want to emphasize that Kyrgyzstan is committed to systematic and long-term cooperation with fraternal Azerbaijan and is ready for serious cooperation in strategic sectors.

Dear Ilham Heydar oglu, we actively cooperate in international organizations and support each other when nominating candidates for international institutions. Kyrgyzstan has invariably adhered to the position on the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders. We are grateful to you for supporting all the initiatives of Kyrgyzstan in the international arena. Our countries are actively cooperating in such authoritative international organizations and structures as the UN, the OSCE, the SCO, the CIS, the OTS, the OIC and the Non-Aligned Movement. I am confident that the high level of our cooperation will be maintained.

Dear Ilham Heydar oglu, I am ready to discuss topical issues of Kyrgyz-Azerbaijani cooperation and pleased to give the floor to you. Please.

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President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said: Thank you, dear Mr. President. First of all, let me express my gratitude for the invitation to pay a state visit to brotherly Kyrgyzstan. I also remember with warmth your visit to Azerbaijan, which took place six months ago. Such dynamics of our relations suggests that we are determined to build up the potential for mutual cooperation. During your official visit to Azerbaijan, a Declaration on Strategic Partnership between our countries was signed, which raised our ties to a higher level. I am sure that as a result of my visit, agreements will also be reached that will contribute to deepening cooperation in many areas.

You have noted the areas of cooperation between our countries both in the international arena and within the framework of trade and economic ties. I think that today and tomorrow both you and I and members of the delegations will have the opportunity to discuss our plans in detail and outline ways of strengthening cooperation. I have looked at the turnover figures - of course, they cannot satisfy us, but I think that the plans that we have laid out will allow us the opportunity to increase the volume of mutual trade in a short time. Azerbaijan is also interested in investment projects in your country. This is also what we will discuss today.

I would like to express my special gratitude to you for your respect for the memory of the founder of the Azerbaijani state, Heydar Aliyev. One of the large schools in Bishkek is named after him. Also, as you noted, the Park of the Kyrgyz-Azerbaijani friendship and a school named after Nizami Ganjavi will be opened. All these significant moments of our cooperation, of course, are a source of deep gratitude of the Azerbaijani people and testify to the fraternal nature of our relations. I am confident that we will continue to cooperate effectively, and the relations between our countries will develop dynamically