TIRANA, November 15 – President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev paid his first official visit to Albania on Tuesday and he was received in an official ceremony in the capital of this Balkan country, Tirana, at the Palace of Brigades by President Bajram Begaj.
“This is a historic visit for our friendship, being the first time that a President from Azerbaijan visits Tirana,” Begaj said at the joint press conference after the bilateral talks.
Begaj underlined that next year also marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Albania and Azerbaijan and it is possible that we will see 2023 as the year when bilateral cooperation should be intensified and mark new developments. “Next spring, we expect Azerbaijan Week to take place in our country, as a good opportunity to get to know each other’s cultures better and more closely,” said Begaj.
According to him, the proposal of the Azeri side for the opening of the Embassy in Albania was discussed, while the need to hold the Joint Economic Commission in 2023 was highlighted.
The Head of State underlined that Albania aims for closer cooperation, especially in vital sectors, such as energy and infrastructure, tourism, agriculture and production. “The IAP Adriatic-Ionian gas pipeline, – through TAP, – connects Albania with Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia, turning our country into a regional distributor and diversifier of gas, of geostrategic importance at the regional and European level,” he said.
President Begaj said that, “to intensify exchanges in the field of tourism between the two countries, we also talked about the possibility of lifting visas for our citizens.”
“We talked about the security situation in our region, in the South Caucasus and about the comprehensive consequences of the war in Ukraine. I confirmed to President Aliyev that the foreign policy of Albania supports long-term peace in the South Caucasus region, the resolution of disputes through diplomacy and dialogue, with the mediation of accepted international actors, such as the EU, UN, OSCE,” declared Begaj.
“We encourage the government of Azerbaijan to support and not hinder Kosovo’s membership in various international organizations, such as the Council of Europe or the recognition of travel documents for Kosovo citizens,” said Begaj.
The creation of the Friendship Parliamentary Group between Albania and Azerbaijan should be followed by other steps, said the Albanian President.
“For the first time in your beautiful country, I feel very happy to be here. I am confident that this visit will give a strong impetus to the relationship between Azerbaijan and Albania. Today we discussed many issues together and expressed our belief that this opens up very good opportunities for future developments,” Aliyev said.
The two heads of state mentioned the TAP gas pipeline, while emphasizing that there could be cooperation between the companies of Azerbaijan and Albania in other areas of the economy.
One of the issues discussed between the presidents was that of energy and gas. Aliyev said that Azerbaijan is ready to help in the development of gas infrastructure in Albania.
“My visit proves that the political dialogue has very good horizons and a very good dynamic. In this context, we show our desires, common interests, and at the same time I hope we will discuss many issues,” said Aliyev.
“Our successful cooperation in international organizations strengthens our ties, our relations, and you said that Albania supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. And this support has always been mutual. And we greatly appreciate this support, whether during the occupation phase, as well as during the Nagorno-Karabakh war phase, and all the support you have shown us, we appreciate it very much,” Aliyev said.
Aliyev emphasized that Azerbaijan has a very close cooperation platform with NATO. “In Afghanistan, we have participated in the operations led by NATO for years. And among non-NATO countries, we were the first to join peacekeeping missions and we were among the last countries to leave Afghanistan,” he said. At the end of his speech, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev invited the President of the Republic, Bajram Begaj, to visit Azerbaijan. /Argumentum.al
