President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Ismail Kahraman.

The head of state congratulated Ismail Kahraman on the victory in the November parliamentary elections and on his appointment to the high position of Chairman of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, and wished him successes in his activity.

President Ilham Aliyev said he was pleased that Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Ismail Kahraman made his first foreign visit to the fraternal country. The head of state recalled the visit of Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu earlier this month, describing this as a wonderful tradition.

The head of state also recalled that President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid his first visit after election as President to Azerbaijan, adding he also paid his first foreign visit after election as President in 2013 to Turkey. The head of state described this as a good example of Azerbaijani-Turkish solidarity. President Ilham Aliyev stressed that it is very difficult to find other countries so closely bound together like Azerbaijan and Turkey. The President said the friendly and fraternal relations between the two countries have withstood many tests over 24 years of Azerbaijan`s independence. President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan and Turkey were successfully cooperating in all areas, including in political and economic fields, adding that thanks to mutual support the two countries were becoming even stronger. Saying Azerbaijani-Turkish business collaboration and friendship became an important factor in the region, the head of state stressed the importance of the fact that the two countries support each other in international organizations. President Ilham Aliyev expressed satisfaction with the fact that as the host country Turkey invited Azerbaijan to G20 Summit, describing Azerbaijan and Turkey as the closest allies. President Ilham Aliyev underlined the role of the inter-parliamentary cooperation in the development of relations, saying this cooperation was successfully developing both in a bilateral format and within international organizations. The head of state recalled the Azerbaijani delegation`s presidency in the Council of Europe, praising close cooperation between the delegations since the very first days of the country`s membership of the organization. President Ilham Aliyev expressed his hope that the visit of Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Ismail Kahraman would play a significant role in enhancing the bilateral cooperation.

Ismail Kahraman said Turkey and Azerbaijan were fraternal countries, adding "one nation two states" idea has already taken root in the minds of both nations. He praised the fact that the Turkish leaders pay their first foreign visits to Azerbaijan. Recalling his previous visits to Azerbaijan, Ismail Kahraman said he was deeply impressed by great development processes in Baku. The Turkish Speaker said Azerbaijan perfectly organized the first European Games. Ismail Kahraman noted that on November 1 both countries successfully held parliamentary elections, expressing his confidence that cooperation and joint projects would be continued.

The sides exchanged views over the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Then a picture was taken.

AZERTAC