Ilham Aliyev met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel

President Ilham Aliyev has met with Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Angela Merkel in Berlin.

Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed the importance of visits of President Ilham Aliyev to Germany and her meetings with the head of state at various events in terms of strengthening the bilateral ties. The Chancellor said Azerbaijan had a significant geographical position. Touching upon the global economic crisis and sharp fall in oil prices, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the German government applauded the economic reforms carried out by the government of Azerbaijan in order to overcome this crisis and its measures to improve the living standard of people.

President Ilham Aliyev spoke about the economic measures implemented in Azerbaijan and said serious steps were taken to reduce the dependence of economy on oil, develop the non-oil sector, diversify economy, and increase economic opportunities.

The head of state touched upon the work done to reduce poverty and improve people`s well-being. President Ilham Aliyev underscored the significance of the Azerbaijani-German Economic Forum held as part of his visit to Berlin, saying this event contributed to expanding economic cooperation between the two countries.

Azerbaijan's role in ensuring the energy security of Europe was emphasized during the meeting. The contribution of the Southern Gas Corridor to the regional cooperation as well as to the expansion of the Azerbaijani-EU economic cooperation was stressed. The positive steps taken by the Azerbaijani government to ensure human rights and develop democratization process in the country were highlighted.

They broadly discussed the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. President Ilham Aliyev highlighted the recent events and current situation on the line of contact, and also spoke of the current state and prospects of the negotiations to settle the dispute. They exchanged views over Germany`s role as the OSCE chair in the settlement of the conflict within the Minsk Group.