On February 15, the 1st meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Serbia was held in Belgrade with the participation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
Modern.az reports that initially, the President of the Republic of Serbia delivered a speech.
Speech by President Aleksandar Vučić
- Esteemed President, my dear friend, Mr. Ilham Aliyev.
Esteemed ministers of the Azerbaijani government and ministers of the Serbian government.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends.
I have the honor to open the first meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Today's meeting and the Council session hold special symbolic significance. This is because it is being held on the most important national holiday of the Republic of Serbia – Statehood Day – and we are celebrating this historic occasion with our closest friends – President Ilham Aliyev and our guests from Azerbaijan.
This meeting is a turning point in our bilateral relations and a clear example of the joint political will to elevate relations between our countries to the highest strategic level. Allow me to remind you that this Council stems from the joint position and agreement we formed with my dear friend, President Ilham Aliyev. The Republic of Serbia holds meetings in this format with only a limited number of countries.
Allow me to specifically state that the presence of President Aliyev, as well as high-level officials and ministers from the governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Serbia, clearly demonstrates the importance both sides attach to this Council. I am confident that the work we are doing today is based on concrete results, clear agreements, and a position for long-term cooperation. I will keep my introductory remarks very brief and ask the Serbian ministers to adopt the same approach, as we cannot be late for the press statement ceremony. Please, let us adhere to that regulation. I would just like to add a few points.
My dear friend, Mr. President, and esteemed friends from Azerbaijan, we are extremely persistent in developing the best strategic partnership with the friendly country of Azerbaijan. We will move towards this goal. This means that we will work wholeheartedly to further develop our relations in various fields. As for friends, when we encounter difficulties, when we face certain issues, we can always resolve them together. This will always be the case. We wish for friendship, the establishment of better relations, and mutual ties to develop more rapidly and intensively.
In the near future, we will open direct flights between Belgrade and Baku, and our contacts will be more frequent compared to previous periods. At the same time, regarding various fields such as culture, sports, economy, agriculture, industry, and military-technical cooperation, I am fully confident that our relations are broader than possible relations between any two countries in the world. I just want to add one more point: I learn a lot from my dear friend Ilham Aliyev, not only today but also at other times. That is why I spent more time on that purpose today. I will continue to do so in the future. I know that he is a very loyal friend. I know that we can expect very good things from Azerbaijan, and I believe that the people of Azerbaijan can always expect only good things from Serbia and the Serbian people. I would ask the Serbian ministers to work as wholeheartedly as our Azerbaijani partners. I wish you success in your work.
I will visit Azerbaijan in the near future. Before that, we must achieve many results. I specifically discussed the issue of the gas-fired power plant in Dubravka with President Aliyev. I ask the President to personally deal with this matter, as I spoke very frankly about what we can and cannot do. I received assurances from President Aliyev that he will personally provide us with great assistance in this matter. Once the technical feasibility studies are completed, we must accelerate all other processes.
Dear friends from Azerbaijan, feel at home in Serbia. Welcome. Esteemed President, I convey my best wishes to you, your family, and your people. I hope to host you again as soon as possible. There should be more meetings. Thank you very much and welcome to Serbia. Thank you.
Then the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan delivered a speech.
Speech by President Ilham Aliyev
- Thank you. Esteemed Mr. President, dear friends. First of all, thank you for the invitation. I am very glad to be in Serbia again. I am also grateful to my friend Aleksandar for dedicating his time to me not only on a Sunday but also on a national holiday. By the way, I congratulate you on your Statehood Day.
This itself demonstrates the level of sincerity between us, that when we talk about our friendship and how we will strengthen our cooperation, we have no boundaries, no time limits, no doubts.
I had extensive discussions with my friend the President. As always, his perspective, knowledge, and experience regarding various aspects of the development of today's geopolitical events made a strong impression on me. The situation in the Balkans, the South Caucasus, and the wider region is developing very rapidly, with many unexpected scenarios. Therefore, we must be ready and in constant contact to exchange views, share information, and conduct certain analyses regarding what is happening, so that we can achieve our goals to the maximum extent possible.
By the way, today is Statehood Day, a day when we reflect on statehood. I want to congratulate the Serbian people and its President on their achievements in strengthening Serbian statehood. Under the leadership of the President, the country is successfully developing, strengthening its statehood and state institutions. We are very pleased to observe this, as Azerbaijan and Serbia are very friendly countries. Today's first meeting of the Strategic Council is also a clear example of the implementation of decisions and agreed-upon matters. Today, almost half of the government members are accompanying me. This itself shows that there are many issues to be discussed among the members of the delegations, among all of us. We must already achieve the results of today's visit before my friend Aleksandar's visit to Azerbaijan, which will take place soon this year. I ask all members of the Azerbaijani delegation to approach this with maximum seriousness so that, as always, we implement what we have agreed upon within a relatively short period.
Aleksandar has already identified the areas of partnership. If we look at the agenda and the presentations by the relevant ministers for today's meeting, we will see that the agenda is expanding. We are not only working closely in the political sphere and on the international arena, but also implementing important projects for our economies and industries. President Vučić mentioned the construction of the power plant. I believe this is an important indicator of how we are diversifying our cooperation in the energy sector. We started with gas cooperation, and now we are moving to the next stage – how to use this gas with maximum efficiency for both sides, with the aim of converting it into the final product, electricity. This will be one of Azerbaijan's main investments in Europe in recent years. This also demonstrates a high level of mutual trust. Because you only invest in a country where you have good relations and when you trust your partners. You know that stability and development in Serbia under the wise leadership of Aleksandar Vučić will be an important factor for a long time. Considering that we need to be there on time for the press statement, I also want to limit my remarks to what I have already said. I also want to give our delegations the opportunity to present their reports. Thank you once again for your hospitality and invitation.
At the meeting, the chairmen of intergovernmental commissions and other relevant ministers delivered reports.
Issues of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Serbia in energy, investments, renewable energy, tourism, agriculture, culture, and other fields were discussed.
The heads of state gave instructions regarding the expansion of cooperation in these areas and the submission of concrete projects.
It was noted with satisfaction that Baku-Belgrade flights will commence in May of this year, and hope was expressed that this will contribute to the development of humanitarian contacts and tourism between our countries.
Then Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Aleksandar Vučić signed the Decision of the 1st meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. (AZERTAC)
