President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Feridun Sinirlioglu.

The head of state congratulated Feridun Sinirlioglu on his appointment as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey and wished him successes in his future activities.

President Ilham Aliyev stressed the importance of the fact that Feridun Sinirlioglu is paying his first official foreign visit to Azerbaijan. He described the fact that the presidents of the two brotherly countries traditionally pay their first foreign visits to each other as a good sign of the bilateral ties. The head of state said that brotherly feelings lie at the heart of bilateral Azerbaijani-Turkish bonds.

President Ilham Aliyev noted that relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey are successfully developing in all areas. The head of state said successful cooperation of Azerbaijan and Turkey in all fields, including in political, economic, energy, cultural and other ones has yielded good results, and emphasized the significance of discussing further expansion of ties.

President Ilham Aliyev said he recently had a phone conversation with President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The head of state Azerbaijan will always support Turkey on every issue. The head of state expressed confidence that this visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Feridun Sinirlioglu will create good opportunities for discussing bilateral and regional issues.

Feridun Sinirlioglu said he was proud of visiting Azerbaijan as a Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey. He conveyed greetings of President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmed Davudoglu to the head of state.

Feridun Sinirlioglu said the first visits of heads of state and government, chairs of various bodies of Azerbaijan and Turkey to each other was a good tradition, stressed the importance of continuing this tradition.

The Foreign Minister said Azerbaijan was a fraternal and partner country for Turkey. He praised development processes in Azerbaijan starting from the early years of the country`s independence to the tenure of national leader Heydar Aliyev and the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev. Feridun Sinirlioglu said he was deeply impressed by what he saw in the country during his visit, adding the country has developed enormously over the last 23 years. Feridun Sinirlioglu once again invited Azerbaijan to the G-20 summit to be held in Antalya.

The head of state thanked for the greetings of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, and asked the FM to communicate his greetings to the President Turkey and Prime Minister of Turkey.