After the one-on-one meeting, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso held a meeting in an expanded format with the participation of delegations.

President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Mr. President, welcome again! I am very pleased to welcome you to Azerbaijan again. We have had a very good discussion regarding our plans and the work done. Relations with the European Union are a priority for us. I am very glad that these relations are developing successfully. With your help we have made a lot of headway. Our relations cover a number of fields – political, economic, energy, security. We work very actively as good partners. We held meetings in the past too – in Baku, Brussels and other places. I am very pleased with the level of our cooperation. I am hopeful that this cooperation will expand further after your visit, will cover even more areas and continue to develop. You are welcome to Azerbaijan again!

X X X

President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso said:

- Mr. President, thank you for the kind words and the warm welcome. I am very pleased to come here again after the visit in 2011. I have very good recollections of my previous visit when the Joint Declaration on the Southern Gas Corridor was signed. This project is well under way now. I was honored to welcome you to Brussels in July of last year. We also met at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius. I am pleased that our meetings have become frequent.

When I arrived here last night, I witnessed the extent of change Baku has been gong through. There are many changes for the better since 2011. I congratulate you on that. Mr. President, I can see the effort you, the Azerbaijani Government and people are making to create a more modern, stable and developed country. I would also like to congratulate you not only on the diplomatic, but also on other important international successes, including the Eurovision song contest and the victory of a Spanish team supported by your country in the Spanish championship.

AzerTAc