President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has today received head of the France-Azerbaijan Friendship Group at the French National Assembly Pierre-Alain Raphan.

President Ilham Aliyev congratulated Pierre-Alain Raphan on his election to the French parliament and welcomed his appointment as head of the French-Azerbaijan Friendship Group.

The head of state said Pierre-Alain Raphan`s visit to Azerbaijan will create a good opportunity for him to closely familiarize himself with the country. Hailing successful development of Azerbaijani-French relations, President Ilham Aliyev said cooperation in the fields of politics, economy, energy and infrastructure has yielded good results. The head of state emphasized the importance of long-term operation of numerous French companies in Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev also noted the role of France as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “However, the Armenian lobby is making every effort to mislead the international community and impede the fair settlement of the conflict by spreading fabricated and false information about Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh in different countries of the world.”

Pointing to the broad agenda of the bilateral relations between the two countries, President Ilham Aliyev expressed his hope that these relations would be strengthened in the years to come.

Head of the France-Azerbaijan Friendship Group at the French National Assembly Pierre-Alain Raphan said he is greatly honored to meet with President Ilham Aliyev and proud with his appointment as head of the France-Azerbaijan Friendship Group.

“All of us including French President Emmanuel Macron wish that France-Azerbaijan relations would reach a higher level,” Pierre-Alain Raphan said. He also stressed the importance of continuing to work to strengthen political, economic and cultural ties between the two countries. Pierre-Alain Raphan underlined the necessity of raising the French society`s awareness of the true essence of the Azerbaijani realities. Touching upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Pierre-Alain Raphan noted that France is committed to the existing resolutions on the settlement of the dispute.

They also exchanged views on cooperation in space industry, construction, transport, water economy, subway, railway, military-technical and other spheres.

AZERTAC