President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with President of Romania Klaus Iohannis in Bucharest.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with President of Romania Klaus Iohannis in Bucharest.

The sides pointed out the existence of strategic partnership relations between the two countries, and stressed the importance of high-level reciprocal visits and meetings. They noted that the relevant authorities of both countries enjoy close cooperation.

During the conversation, the presidents noted the significance of the signing of the “Agreement on a strategic partnership in the field of green energy development and transmission between the Governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary”, adding that this event contributes to Europe's energy security. In particular, the sides emphasized the importance of energy supply of Europe through green energy sources, and praised Azerbaijan's important contribution to this work.

They also exchanged views on the bilateral relations. The sides underlined that after the commissioning of the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria, an agreement was reached on the transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Romania in a short period of time, and stated that this work will start in January next year. They also noted that SOCAR has been successfully operating in Romania for many years, and said that there is a good potential for expanding this activity.

During the conversation, the presidents exchanged views on the possibility of increasing transport and communication opportunities, the volume of cargo transportation through the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania route. The sides underlined that this will also contribute to economic cooperation between the countries of the Caspian Sea basin and the Black Sea basin. They stressed the importance of these processes in terms of strengthening transit relations between Central Asia and Europe.

The sides also touched upon relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union, and hailed the development of this cooperation. They pointed out the successful continuation of the negotiations on a new agreement between Azerbaijan and the European Union.

During the conversation, the sides discussed the prospects for cooperation and issues of mutual interest.