Presidents of Azerbaijan and Slovakia delivered press statements

AZERBAIJAN, December 8 - On December 8, Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Peter Pellegrini, President of the Slovak Republic, delivered press statements in Bratislava.

The President of Slovakia made the statement first.

Statement by President Peter Pellegrini

- Ladies and gentlemen,

I am very pleased to welcome the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, to Slovakia here at the Presidential Palace today.

Mr. President, I am delighted that you have accepted my invitation. This is the first official visit by the President of Azerbaijan to Slovakia in history. This confirms our mutual interest at the highest level. We intend to establish and develop a strategic partnership with your country. Mr. President and I held extensive discussions both in an expanded format and in a one-on-one format. We have met many times in the past. As always, our meeting was very sincere and open because our countries are friends, and our relations have always been at a good level.

Slovakia views Azerbaijan as a partner of strategic importance in the region in which it is located. Azerbaijan is the largest economy in the South Caucasus. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia and Europe and is rich in energy resources. I am very pleased that our trade is increasing. There is significant growth, and we also noted today that some potential remains untapped.

Last year, the Declaration on Strategic Partnership was signed between the two countries, raising our relations to a higher level. Our cooperation in all areas of mutual interest can be expanded even further. In the future, Slovakia and Azerbaijan will cooperate even more closely – in the defense industry, advanced technologies, student exchange, tourism, culture, and other areas.

On behalf of the people of Slovakia, I would like to congratulate Mr. President and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia has been initialed after many years. As you may know, this treaty was signed at the White House with the participation of President Donald Trump. Azerbaijan lives in peace today, and its citizens and society are now focused on the development of the country. Attention is now directed to the post-war period.

Azerbaijan can play a leading role for Slovakia. We are talking about diversifying our energy supplies. Of course, we recognize that Azerbaijan can be a long-term strategic partner for us. Our delegations will continue negotiations so that this becomes an agreement acceptable for Slovakia and allows us to benefit from Azerbaijan’s resources.

The defense industry is a very important sector, and we are already developing cooperation in this field. We do not intend simply to sell weapons to Azerbaijan. As you know, this sector is highly developed in Slovakia. We also have extensive experience in self-propelled artillery systems, ammunition, and other products. We can work with Azerbaijan on technology transfer, the use of Azerbaijani financial resources, and joint production, and we can sell jointly manufactured products to third countries.

I am pleased that during the visit of our Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Mr. Kaliňák, the Azerbaijani side expressed its interest in purchasing automatic artillery systems and has now reaffirmed its intention. I am sure that these types of weapons will further strengthen the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

Joint ventures, joint companies, technology transfer – in other words, we are determined to deepen our cooperation in this area, and of course, there may be other areas of mutual interest. As you know, a Slovak company is building a “smart village” in the Garabagh region. In addition, our Export-Import Bank is ready to finance various projects.

In conclusion, I would like to note that Azerbaijan and Slovakia are friendly countries. Our ties can become even closer. I am glad that the Hungarian airline Wizz Air is actively connecting our countries and increasing the number of flights. Direct flights from Bratislava Airport to Baku can now be launched, as these are two dynamically developing regions, and we have already discussed this topic.

Mr. President, I welcome you once again to Bratislava. I am sure that your official visit will mark the beginning of a new and important stage in our cooperation. I am very pleased that we will meet again soon. Thank you once again for accepting my invitation. Of course, we met in Baku, but the Slovak President has not yet paid an official visit to Azerbaijan.

Once again, Mr. President, welcome to Slovakia!

X X X

Then, the President of Azerbaijan made the statement.

Statement by President Ilham Aliyev

- Dear Mr. President,

Dear friends,

Mr. President, first of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for the invitation and for the hospitality extended.

I am sure that my official visit to Slovakia will have a very positive impact on the relations between our two countries.

As you have noted, this is the first official visit by the President of Azerbaijan to Slovakia. Of course, the talks we held during the visit, both in a one-on-one format and with the participation of delegations, are further evidence of the fact that Slovakia and Azerbaijan are true friends and strategic partners.

As you mentioned, Slovakia and Azerbaijan signed a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership last year. It is a document that raises our relations to the highest level. Since that document was signed, we have observed very active cooperation in all areas.

You have already provided extensive information about our bilateral agenda. I would simply like to add that our joint teams are working hard on all the areas you mentioned. The joint economic working group is stepping up its activities. Specific projects are being implemented in the field of energy, which remains a traditional area of our cooperation. Last year, Azerbaijani gas was supplied to Slovakia for the first time. In fact, Azerbaijan can provide Slovakia with any volume of energy resources it may need.

I should also note that our rich gas fields have enabled us to export natural gas to many countries of the world today. The number of countries that purchase Azerbaijani gas has already reached 14. We hold first place as an exporter of gas through pipelines. As a result of the development of new gas fields, we will obtain additional resources, and, of course, it will be possible to supply Azerbaijani gas to both Slovakia and its neighbors in even larger volumes.

Currently, our total gas exports stand at 25 billion cubic meters, half of which is transported to European countries. Today, eight European Union member states provide for their energy security by purchasing Azerbaijani gas.

You have already mentioned another promising area of cooperation, which is the defense industry. We view cooperation in this area from the standpoint of industrial development. We do not intend to wage war. Wars are already a matter of the past for us. Simply put, by creating synergy and combining Slovak technologies with Azerbaijani financial capabilities, the production of new products may be of interest to world markets. Moreover, this will also bring us great benefits as a direction of technological development. We are working on specific projects in this area.

Exactly a month ago, on November 8, we celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Victory in the war of liberation, and it was a great pleasure to see the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Slovakia among our honored guests. We are grateful to the Slovak state and government for that. Such gestures once again show that we are, in the true sense of the word, friendly countries. Relevant government representatives have received instructions in all directions to raise cooperation to an even higher level in the coming years.

We are very pleased with Slovakia’s successful development under your leadership. There is stability and economic development in your country. Slovakia has very strong industrial potential. The fact that Slovakia pursues an independent foreign policy has earned you special respect. In some cases, you face certain difficulties because of this, but it does not deter you, and there is great respect for your country and leadership in our region.

Azerbaijan has long defined its foreign policy priorities. At the same time, we are currently playing the role of a bridge between East and West. The investments we have made in infrastructure, connectivity, and the transport sector have enabled Azerbaijan to become an important component of the East-West transport corridor. We are heavily involved in the Middle Corridor project. The most reliable and safest route connecting Central Asia with Europe passes through the territory of Azerbaijan.

In the coming years, we will expand our capabilities by investing additional funds in connectivity and transport. I believe that we should not overlook this area while developing relations between Slovakia and Azerbaijan, because it has great potential.

In addition, we discussed information technologies and the creation of data centers today. Azerbaijan's advantage here is that we have substantial energy potential. Today, the unused energy potential in Azerbaijan is about 2 gigawatts, and it will increase to 8 gigawatts over the next five years. Of course, energy is one of the key factors for the operation of artificial intelligence and data centers. Climate is also an important factor here. Although we are a southern country, we also have very cold regions with frosty weather prevailing for most of the year. Therefore, we see our role as a hub for international data centers and intend to work with Slovak companies in this direction.

Mr. President, I would like to thank you once again for your hospitality. I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to pay an official visit to Azerbaijan. You have visited Azerbaijan many times, but you have not yet been there on an official visit as President. If you have time, we would be ready and pleased to welcome you to Azerbaijan next year. Thank you very much again.