Azerbaijan, Bosnia hail 'new era' in bilateral relations

BELGRADE, Serbia

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday said that a new era has begun in relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Aliyev's remarks came during his first-ever official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina after a series of meetings in the capital Sarajevo.

Speaking at the press conference, Aliyev thanked Bosnia and Herzegovina for support during Azarbeijan's operation to liberate Karabakh territory from Armenia.

"We are grateful to you for this friendship and brotherhood. Today, a new era begins in our relations. We will strengthen the relations in the economic field. There will be activities between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Azerbaijan in the strategic field," said Aliyev.

In the fall of 2020, during 44 days of heavy fighting, Azerbaijan liberated a significant part of Karabakh, and a Russian-brokered peace agreement was subsequently signed, which was considered a triumph in Baku.

Aliyev was welcomed with an official ceremony by the Croat, Bosniak, and Serb members of the tri-partite Presidential Council.

Aliyev said that they agreed to cooperate in the field of energy and infrastructure.

"We have invested a lot in infrastructure projects in many countries. It is important for us to connect the Caucasus and the Balkans. I believe we will take concrete steps in this direction. We also talked about deepening intercultural dialogue. We can do good work in this field because there are differences in the ethnic structure of the two countries. Baku and Sarajevo, they were sister cities in the times of Yugoslavia and the USSR. I am sure that our friendship will increase even more after this meeting," said Aliyev.

Zeljka Cvijanovic, chairman of the Presidential Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, described the visit as historic for the beginning of a new era.

"Let's call it a new era," said Cvijanovic.

Cvijanovic announced that Bosnia will open an embassy in Baku.

Aliyev and Cvijanovic signed the Joint Declaration of Strategic Cooperation between the two countries.