KUWAIT CITY, Feb 17: Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Yalchin Ilgar Rafiyev revealed that his country’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jeyhun Bayramov will visit Kuwait at the end of April to attend the joint committee meeting on initiatives and pledges concerning both countries. In a press conference held after he met with Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Jarrah Al-Jaber and several officials in the presence of Azerbaijan Ambassador to Kuwait Emil Karimov, Ilgar stressed that “Azerbaijan and Kuwait are sisterly countries. We consider Kuwait one of our closest friends around the world, whether bilaterally or with international organizations. We have strong cooperation and a positive record of mutual support. At the same time, we believe that from a political perspective, this strong partnership must be integrated with the economic and trade partnership.”

He added that “at present, we need to strengthen the existing trade and economic partnership. I am sure that our visit, which will be followed by a meeting of the joint committee between the two countries, will certainly serve this purpose. In the humanitarian field, we have very strong cooperation as well, in addition to education. Communication between the two peoples is very important.” He also pointed out that last year, about 31,000 Kuwaitis visited Azerbaijan, considering this a very good number, compared to the population of Kuwait. “We have three flights a day from Kuwait to Azerbaijan and vice versa by different airlines. This is evidence of the fact that Kuwaitis are interested in visiting Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijanis are also interested in visiting Kuwait.” Rafiyev said that “exchange of visits at a high level is very important to develop bilateral relations. We met at the level of deputy ministers, and our Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov is scheduled to visit on April 29-30. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has extended an invitation to His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah . We hope that His Highness will visit Azerbaijan this year.”

By Fares Al-Abdan
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff