By Rashid Shirinov

Relations between Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia are successfullydeveloping in different fields, Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister,Colonel General Zakir Hasanov said on February 6.

He made the remarks during a meeting with the delegation of theDefense Ministry of Saudi Arabia, led by Major General Ali binIbrahim Fevvaz.

Having greeted the guests, Hasanov brought to their attentionthe instructions of the President of Azerbaijan, the SupremeCommander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev about theexpansion of relations and cooperation between Azerbaijan and SaudiArabia in all areas, particularly in the military andmilitary-technical spheres.

Touching upon the security issue in the region, Hasanovexpressed gratitude for Saudi Arabia's support of Azerbaijan'sposition in the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and fornon-establishment of diplomatic relations with Armenia.

Fevvaz, in turn, noted that Saudi Arabia regards Azerbaijan as afriendly and fraternal state and attaches great importance tomilitary cooperation between the two countries.

The guest added that as a Muslim country, Saudi Arabia stronglycondemns Armenia's aggressive policy and is constantly close toAzerbaijan in its rightful cause.

During the meeting, the parties also discussed issues ofstrengthening ties between the armies of the two countries, holdingjoint military exercises, organizing visits, as well as a number ofother issues of mutual interest.

Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries to recognize theindependence of Azerbaijan in 1991.The diplomatic relations betweenthe two countries were established in 1992. The Azerbaijani Embassyin Riyadh was opened in 1994, and since 1999, the embassy of SaudiArabia has been operating in Baku.

Over the past years, the bilateral economic relations with theincreased interest in investment strengthened and expanded.Currently, several companies of Saudi Arabia operate in variousfields in Azerbaijan.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him onTwitter:@RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter@AzerNewsAz

• Tags:
• Saudi Arabia
• Azerbaijani Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov