Ilham Aliyev received the minister of foreign affairs, foreign employment and tourism of Sri Lanka - PHOTO

On October 14, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received Vijitha Herath, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Thanking him for the invitation to the Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), the guest congratulated the head of our state on holding this representative event in Baku, as well as on Azerbaijan's successful chairmanship. He expressed confidence that the Summit would contribute to expanding cooperation among the participating countries.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked the member states, including Sri Lanka, for supporting the decision on Azerbaijan's chairmanship of CICA. The head of state noted that this testifies to our country's successful chairmanship of the organization, as well as to the respect and trust shown toward Azerbaijan.

The President of Azerbaijan emphasized that the visit of Sri Lanka's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism to our country also creates a good opportunity to discuss issues of bilateral cooperation.

Vijitha Herath expressed gratitude for the humanitarian assistance provided by our country to Sri Lanka during the recent natural disasters.

The meeting highlighted the successful interaction between Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka within the framework of international organizations, including the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement and CICA.

Views were exchanged on the opportunities for expanding relations in the economic, trade and tourism spheres in line with the level of political ties. It was noted that students from Sri Lanka study in Azerbaijan, and the prospects for cooperation in this area were discussed.