Ilham Aliyev received participants of the 31st meeting of the Council of Heads of the CIS Security and Intelligence Agencies held in Baku

President Ilham Aliyev has received participants of the 31st meeting of the Council of Heads of the CIS Security and Intelligence Agencies held in Baku.

Welcoming the guests, President Ilham Aliyev said:

Welcome! I am glad to welcome you to Azerbaijan. I do hope that the meeting of the Council of Heads of the CIS Security and Intelligence Agencies will be held successfully and in a spirit of cooperation and interaction.

As you know, our country and the countries you represent have very friendly and good relations. We meet regularly at the level of heads of state, pay reciprocal visits, solve many important issues, which contributes to the existence of high-level interaction and mutual support in the former Soviet Union. Twenty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, I think one of the biggest achievements of our countries is that we have been able to preserve and strengthen the relations between our peoples and our countries.

Noting that various meetings and activities carried out within the CIS framework create good opportunities for expanding cooperation between countries, President Ilham Aliyev stressed that ties in the humanitarian sphere are also strengthening. As an example, the President cited the first international humanitarian forum recently held in Baku with the participation of CIS representatives. He said the forum aroused great interest worldwide.

Touching upon economic relations among CIS countries and cooperation between intelligence agencies, President Ilham Aliyev said:

Our relations are developing through economic institutions. As for Azerbaijan, our turnover with CIS countries and mutual investments are growing, we are happy with our economic relations. We also have effective cooperation at the level of law-enforcement agencies in both bilateral and multilateral formats, namely in the area of border security, fighting crime and, of course, through intelligence agencies, in combating the biggest threats.

“We are all interested in peace, calm and development in our countries. We have great tasks of improving the lives and well-being of our citizens,” President Ilham Aliyev said, noting the importance of a joint fight against terrorism and extremism which impede the achievement of these goals. The head of state spoke of the tasks vested in intelligence agencies in this respect.

President Ilham Aliyev wished the 31st meeting of the Council of Heads of the CIS Security and Intelligence Agencies in Baku every success and said:

I am sure that the Council meeting will be successful and all the issues on your agenda will be discussed. I also think the two days in Baku will bring you closer together and create even better conditions for joint work. Let me welcome you again and wish the Council every success.

The Chairman of the Council of Heads of the CIS Security and Intelligence Agencies and the Director of the Federal Security Service of Russia, Aleksandr Bortnikov, thanked the President on behalf of the participants for the opportunity to hold the 31st meeting of the Council in Baku at a high level and for receiving the delegation. He said security and intelligence agencies of CIS countries cooperate successfully and consolidate efforts in the fight against international terrorism, extremism and other universal threats.

Aleksandr Bortnikov said that it was as a result of successful joint activities of security and intelligence agencies of CIS countries that such threats have been prevented in a timely manner and effective preventive measures have been taken over the past 20 years. He said the 31st meeting of the Council would sum up the progress made over this period and establish further joint action. He indicated that the scale of terrorism, extremism and other threats involving the use of information and communication technologies and the latest scientific and technical achievements had expanded in recent years, and drew attention to the need for a closer joint combat against these threats. Aleksandr Bortnikov thanked the President again for the reception and for the opportunity to hold the 31st meeting of the Council of Heads of the CIS Security and Intelligence Agencies in Baku at a high level.

On behalf of all delegations, Bortnikov presented President Ilham Aliyev with a gift.

Then a picture was taken.