‘Azerbaijan is not just a partner but a close friend of Belarus’

“Azerbaijan is not just a partner but a close friend of Belarus,” said Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Natalya Kochanova as she met with Azerbaijani Ambassador to Belarus Ulvi Bakhshaliyev in Minsk, according to BelTA.

“For us, Azerbaijan is not just a partner, but a close friend. We maintain friendly relations, economic, political and humanitarian ties. This cooperation is very important for us, because we feel the support of Azerbaijan in international organizations at all levels. This is what true partners and true friends do. In many respects, such good relations between our countries have developed thanks to our presidents,” Kochanova said.

The speaker noted that an intensive political dialogue is underway between Belarus and Azerbaijan. “At this difficult time, relations between our countries should be even closer and more fruitful. We welcome the work of the inter-parliamentary working group. Of course, the interaction between MPs should be even closer. Our contacts should be more effective, and, I think, the resumption of meetings and parliamentary visits to Azerbaijan and Belarus will contribute to this. We have found full mutual understanding of the ongoing processes. We support each other and will do everything to advance our cooperation. The trade picked up good pace, amounting to $442 million in January-October 2021,” the speaker noted.

Natalya Kochanova stated that Belarus seeks a fruitful and constructive dialogue with the MPs of Azerbaijan. “We will be glad to host the speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament in Belarus, the delegations of our fellow parliamentarians,” she added.

Ambassador Ulvi Bakhshaliyev thanked for the opportunity to meet. “I am very happy to work as ambassador here,” he said. “We are very grateful to our Presidents for the pace they have given to our relations. We must seek to fulfill the tasks on the bilateral agenda on time. I would like to thank you for assistance with the Nizami Ganjavi monument project. I would like to inform you that the monument has been erected and will be unveiled soon. We worked closely with the Minsk City Hall on the matter. Minsk is a very beautiful city, and I believe that the monument will beautify the architecture of the Belarusian capital,” the Azerbaijani diplomat added.