Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Jan 30 2007

Azerbaijani president starts visit to France

AssA-Irada 30/01/2007 01:31

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev started his visit to France on the
invitation of his counterpart Jacques Chirac on Monday.

Meeting the Azerbaijani leader at the Paris airport were French
Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie and representatives of the
Azerbaijani embassy. This was followed by a meeting of the two
leaders at the Elysian Palace that focused on ways of expanding
relations between Azerbaijan and France and the Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh.

The French president awarded the Azerbaijani leader with the Honorary
Legion of Honor Ring at the meeting.
During the visit, the two presidents are to sign a joint statement as
well as agreements covering various fields.
President Aliyev is accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar
Mammadyarov, Emergencies Kamaladdin Heydarov, Economic Development
Heydar Babayev as well as businessmen.

On Tuesday, Aliyev is due to meet with French Prime Minister
Dominique de Villepin. His meetings with the chairmen of the French
National Assembly and Senate (parliament), ministers of foreign
affairs, defense, agriculture and the mayor of Paris are scheduled as
well.

On the following day, President Aliyev is expected to visit the city
of Lille where he will hold meetings with officials of the Lille
Nord-Pas de Calais region and tour several enterprises.

The relations between France and Azerbaijan have significantly
expanded of late. France, as a country co-chairing the OSCE Minsk
Group, continues mediating settlement to the Garabagh conflict.

The trade turnover between the two countries has been rising rapidly
and made up 800 million euros in 2006.*

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress