Ilham Aliyev and President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić are making press statements

AZERBAIJAN, February 15 - President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić delivered press statements in Belgrade on February 15.

The President of Serbia made the statement first.

Statement by President Aleksandar Vučić

- Dear President Aliyev, my dear friend,

Thank you for this visit. I know how important and busy your work schedule is. So I would kindly ask you to feel at home here.

Our Chinese friends say that when it rains like this, it is always a good sign that something big is about to begin. I do hope that, despite the unfavorable weather, we will view this event in the best possible way for ourselves and see what a bright future lies ahead for both Serbia and Azerbaijan. At least when it comes to our bilateral relations.

I would like to express my great respect to the people of Azerbaijan and to you personally, dear Mr. President. I would also like to say to the people of Serbia and, of course, to the people of Azerbaijan that every time I talk to you, I learn a lot, I manage to observe many things from a different perspective of an experienced statesman and a true leader. Therefore, I would like to thank you very much for always sharing your knowledge with me and for establishing such relations with us, from which my country, the country I lead, has a lot to learn.

President Ilham Aliyev and I spoke about all the important issues in the world and in Europe today. We consulted each other and I learned from him. I understood some processes better, and more deeply than before. We have such relations that whenever a crisis occurs, we are open and talk to each other. Our cooperation is developing in every sphere of life. Compared to 2012, our trade in the field of services is 16 times higher, not 16 percent, but 16 times. Also, thanks to the strategic partnership, we have established new relations with Azerbaijan, the closest possible relations. I believe that this is extremely important for the Republic of Serbia and its people.

Our cooperation in various spheres of social life can and should be more important and greater. I do believe that with more work and effort, and indeed with a more diligent approach on our part, we will achieve even better results in the future. So far, we have signed 57 documents, and we can add to this the dozens of other documents we signed today. These documents should serve as a solid foundation for improving our relations in all areas of social life.

We have also discussed participation in the investment forum to be held in Azerbaijan in September, and before that, I will visit Azerbaijan. I believe that this is an opportunity for our business circles, bankers and other representatives to visit Azerbaijan, and this will be an opportunity for our country to present EXPO. Because in the run-up to that, there will be a few months left for EXPO. This event is the largest event that will be held in Serbia in 2027, and it is also the most important event for us. We are grateful to Azerbaijan for confirming its participation in EXPO 2027, and I am sure that they will represent their beautiful country in the best possible way here in Belgrade in 2027.

At the same time, I would like to draw your attention to some facts. The increase in tourism between the two countries and the opening of a direct flight between Belgrade and Baku by Air Serbia on May 3 will make a special contribution to this. I can personally say to all the people of Serbia that Baku is a beautiful city. They can see a lot of innovations there. The city is located on the shores of the Caspian Sea. It is a clean and tidy city. Whenever I visit Baku, I see new wonders, new and beautiful places that President Ilham Aliyev has built together with the Government of Azerbaijan. There are magnificent museums there. There are boulevards, there are friendly people, security is at the highest possible level. So this is an open invitation to Serbian citizens to visit Azerbaijan. I want to invite the people of Azerbaijan to visit Serbia and love this country. Serbia is among the countries with the highest level of security on the European continent. We have brotherly and friendly relations with the people of Azerbaijan. I think that there are many places in our country you can visit. I mean not only Belgrade but also other cities, mountain resorts, lakes and other places.

We talked about economic cooperation and agriculture, as well as the exchange of agricultural products. I really liked when I first tasted tomatoes and cucumbers grown in the settlement of Zira in Azerbaijan, and even before that, when I tasted products from the special region of Azerbaijan, Nakhchivan. I like them very much and I have heard that compared to products from other sources, Azerbaijan supplies them at a significant discount. I wonder if it is possible to provide our people with these products at such a low price? If those sitting in the government have not thought about this, let them think about it. I urge you to solve the issue of providing citizens with quality goods at more affordable prices from our friends in Azerbaijan. At the same time, we should also provide our own goods in this way. So far, this is not happening. I am sure that we can also provide Azerbaijan with many products. However, we have not done this yet and have not approached it carefully enough. This is the attitude. Time passes, but we do not seem to think about anything.

One of the most important issues is the fact that we are entering the era of electricity. I asked President Ilham Aliyev to personally participate in this project to help us. If so, we can finish the work faster. People here may think that electricity existed 20 years ago. But back then you bought fuel in containers. Then electricity was supplied for six hours, and then for the next six hours it was provided with interruptions. As for today, there is discipline that has never been seen in our country before. However, the situation may not be the same tomorrow. The era of electricity is beginning, and we need many sources of electricity. We need to produce more electricity. Azerbaijan will have electricity measuring gigawatts. But the question is: will there be the necessary transmission lines for its import? We have reached an agreement with the Azerbaijani side on important issues. Today, the Serbian gas company and SOCAR held talks on this issue and a cooperation agreement was signed. We will try to resolve each issue within two or three months, so that the project documentation can be prepared and construction can begin immediately after that. The construction will take more than two years. We believe that we will open a gas-fired power plant by 2029. Three sites have been selected around the city of Nis. We are talking about clean energy. The European Union also recognizes this. In short, the construction is expected to take place in Tripale, Krusti, or Niška Banja. However, I think Krusti is the most suitable place. The plant will have a power generation capacity of 500 megawatts. President Ilham Aliyev has promised me that he would personally deal with this issue. You may not believe it, but in two years they managed to create a total power generation capacity of 1,890 megawatts.

The people of Azerbaijan may not know this, these capacities were created in the shortest possible time. Azerbaijani companies will exercise control here. Serbian companies will join the work. Both sides will work with 50 percent. A 500-megawatt gas-fired power plant will be built. This will be a good example. In the future, we should build more gas-fired power plants. Small modular reactors will be installed. There will be data centers and other issues will be resolved. I have started discussions with the Americans, and it would be good if they, starting from the port of Bar in Montenegro, laid oil and gas pipelines, built data centers, carried out these works from Prijepolje through the Zlatibor mountains to Belgrade. Data centers should be created. If we do not use the capabilities of artificial intelligence, we will lag behind as a country. Elon Musk says that in two months everything will change dramatically. It is just that people do not see and do not know this yet. Therefore, the pace of the work should be accelerated, and we are grateful to our Azerbaijani friends for their support.

We have taken up a lot of your time. We have also discussed military and technical cooperation. Cooperation is going well. Consultations are held at the level of our foreign ministries. Agreements and constant support are evident. Even in the most difficult issues, Serbia has been on Azerbaijan's side, and they have supported us as well. This will continue to be the case in the future. We have resolved very difficult issues. We fully believe in President Ilham Aliyev's words. I think that he also treats our country with the same sincere sentiments. We will continue this relationship as it is. Today and tomorrow, there will be an opportunity for additional discussions. Tomorrow, we are expected to have a working breakfast, and I am very pleased that we were able to spend so much time with my friend and a friend of Serbia, President Ilham Aliyev. You see, I am not always satisfied with our flexibility. We must work with more enthusiasm and speed up everything. We have been able to do more work than before and have achieved good results. I want to congratulate every citizen of Serbia on the occasion of Statehood Day. Today Serbia celebrates one of the most important holidays on its calendar. This is a great holiday for us. I am grateful for your congratulations.

Dear Mr. President, thank you very much for honoring us with this visit. I do believe that through our joint work we will achieve the best results for the interests of the peoples of Azerbaijan and Serbia. Thank you very much. Long live the Serbian-Azerbaijani friendship!

Dear Mr. President, I am grateful to you, welcome to your home.

x x x

Then, the President of Azerbaijan made the statement.

Statement by President Ilham Aliyev

- Dear Mr. President, my dear friend,

Dear ladies and gentlemen,

Mr. President, first of all, I would like to express my gratitude to you for the invitation and hospitality. It is your national holiday today, Statehood Day, and yet, you are welcoming the Azerbaijani delegation. We view this as a manifestation of the high level of our relations. Serbia and Azerbaijan are two friendly countries that always stand by each other.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to congratulate you and all the friendly people of Serbia on the occasion of Statehood Day. It is not by chance that this holiday is called as such. I am well aware that the Serbian people have always made great efforts and sacrifices to protect and strengthen their state sovereignty. My dear friend, as the President of Serbia, you have always put statehood and state interests above all else. That is why Serbia is developing successfully under your leadership, and your country has gained tremendous respect internationally. At the same time, major reforms have been carried out in the economic and social spheres. As a result, Serbia, a country without natural resources, has been developing economically with great success, relying on its own strength and without receiving assistance from anywhere. In present-day circumstances, especially for a country located in Europe, this should be viewed as a significant factor. I would like to note the very high leadership qualities of President Vučić. As you may know, our contacts have been ongoing for many years. We know each other well, we have sincere conversations, and friendly relations. I know how much President Vučić is committed to the Serbian people, state, and public interests, and it is precisely these factors that underpin the success of any country. Of course, as friends of Serbia, we highly appreciate this and are happy about it.

My dear friend has touched upon the issues we discussed, so I do not want to repeat them. Indeed, many issues were discussed at the first meeting of the Serbia-Azerbaijan Strategic Council today. Before that, we reviewed a wide range of issues in our one-on-one meeting. We also have clear plans for the future, which consist of further strengthening our relations in the political, economic, and energy sectors, continuing to support each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty on international platforms and within international organizations, implementing joint investment projects, taking advantage of newly created opportunities in the energy and transport sectors, and creating a very strong synergy by looking further ahead.

President Vučić has already touched upon the future of the power plant to be built jointly. As the President has said, we have decided to keep this issue under the presidents’ oversight. The process of creating this power plant is based on the investment opportunities that exist in Serbia. Because if the investment climate were not positive, Serbia would not be so attractive to foreign investors. It is precisely as a result of the reforms that many countries, including Azerbaijan, are ready to invest substantially in Serbia.

The construction and reconstruction of power plants, as well as their rehabilitation, pave the way for the future development of any country. In particular, countries without natural resources often fall into dependence. Therefore, the presence of domestic energy and generation capacities ensures the energy security of each country, and I would like to note the special role of President Vučić in the implementation of this project.

In general, our relations in the energy sector are now developing in a diversified manner. Some time ago, we started exporting natural gas to Serbia, and today we decided to increase the volume of our exports. Now Serbia will also convert the gas to be exported into electricity, thereby acquiring clean electricity. This will create opportunities for both the Serbian market and for future exports. Today, Azerbaijan's export potential in the energy sector is 2 gigawatts. This figure will only increase because we are now engaged in the construction of many renewable energy plants and are ready to cooperate with Serbia in this area.

We will generate an additional 8 gigawatts of energy capacity by 2032, and a large part of it will be exported. To achieve this, we need new and larger transmission capacities because our main export destination is Europe.

As for other issues, let me repeat, my friend has already spoken about them. I do not want to take up too much of your time. I believe that the results of my official visit will not be long in coming. We will meet again in the near future. I have invited President Vučić and members of the Serbian delegation to Azerbaijan. I am sure that we will meet several times this year – both in Azerbaijan and, perhaps, again in Serbia. Both I and, I am sure, the rest of the Azerbaijani delegation feel absolutely at home here. I have been to Serbia many times and have witnessed first hand the development taking place in Serbia under the leadership of President Vučić. Therefore, I would like to once again sincerely congratulate our Serbian friends and join President Vučić in his slogan: Long live Serbia! Long live Azerbaijan! Long live Serbian-Azerbaijani friendship!