Azerbaijan President Aliyev arrives to boost ties with Qatar

The meeting between the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev today will reflect the commitment of both sides to develop bilateral relations. 

President Aliyev arrived in Doha yesterday on an official visit. He was received at the Hamad International Airport by  Minister of Economy and Commerce H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, Qatar's Ambassador to Azerbaijan Yousif Hasan Alsae, and Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Qatar Tofiq Abdullayev.

It is the second state visit by Aliyev, and it looks to explore the scope for bilateral cooperation in light of the two countries' strategic partnership. The two leaders will also discuss investment opportunities in a number of fields, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported yesterday. The two-day visit is likely to see the signing of many agreements in a number of fields such as civil aviation, culture, sports, youth, and environment, among others. 

Around 30 business personalities are accompanying the Azerbaijani President during the visit. They are set to meet their Qatari counterparts to discuss enhancing strategic partnership. The Emir visited Azerbaijan in March 2016. During the visit, the Emir held talks with the President of Azerbaijan and discussed cooperation in commerce, investment, energy and culture. 

The two leaders also expressed their commitment to extend cooperation in the economic and political fields. They agreed on the importance of capitalizing on great investment opportunities in energy, tourism, agriculture, technology, and transport. 

The Emir was present during the signing of a number of agreements and MoUs. The most notable of them was amending an agreement on lifting visa requirements for holders of diplomatic passports from both countries. All Qatari citizens were allowed entry to Azerbaijan without an entry visa. 

The two sides coordinate their positions heavily at the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. 

Azerbaijani officials praise Qatar's support for a just resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh region, where more than 20% of the land remains under the control of Armenian groups. 

Qatar was also one of the first countries to recognize in 1991 the independence of Azerbaijan from the Soviet Union. 

Qatar and Azerbaijan enjoy deep-rooted bilateral ties for more than 23 years, which were crowned by the establishment of a Joint Commission and the conclusion of 25 agreements, including eight agreements during 2016 covering various sectors such as information technology, telecommunications as well as security and military sectors.

A number of agreements on bilateral anti-drug coordination, police training, exchange of information, emergencies and disasters were signed between the two countries. The two sides seek to conclude more agreements during the current visit of the President of Azerbaijan to enhance the strategic partnership. In the context of enhancing bilateral relations in the cultural field, a solid foundation for stronger cooperation was laid in 2004 and the Azeri capital of Baku was chosen as the Capital of Islamic Culture in 2009, where Qatar's participation in this celebration was distinguished.

In 2010, Azerbaijan took part in the activities of Doha Arab Capital of Culture while Doha hosted the Azerbaijani Cultural Days in the same year.

Various heritage and musical events were also organized on the occasion of Azerbaijan Embassy's celebration of the National Day while a delegation from Azerbaijan will take part in the Silk Road Festival due to be held at the Cultural Village Foundation (Katara) later.

The First Session of the Economic, Commercial and Technical Joint Committee between Qatar and Azerbaijan wad held in Baku last year in implementation of an agreement signed in Baku in March 2016 to establish the Committee.

The Azeri tourism sector has attracted a growing number of Qatari tourists, who were in the last year almost five times more than the previous years.

The diplomatic relations was established on Sept. 14, 1994 starting with the opening of the embassies.

Azerbaijan's economy is the fastest growing in the Central Asia and the Caspian Sea region. According to the World Bank Economy Ranking, it holds one of the strongest economies due to the economy reform policy the country is adopting. 

Azerbaijan's petrochemical industry is one of the oldest and most advanced in the world, and owns an abundant stock of mineral resources such as iron, copper and aluminum, and is famous for cultivating all crops such as fruits, timber, tea,...etc. 

In the recent period, Azerbaijan has linked between Europe and the Far East and it also holds the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline which transports oil from the Caspian Sea to the shores of the Mediterranean in Turkey.