President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Jose Graziano da Silva.

The head of state recalled with satisfaction his last meeting with FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva in Rome, expressing confidence that his visit to Azerbaijan and meetings he will hold in the country will be fruitful and successful. Saying that Azerbaijan-FAO cooperation is actively developing, President Ilham Aliyev said there are big plans related to the expansion of partnership.

FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said 128 countries undertook to halve poverty under Millennium Development Goals, adding only 18 of them managed to do this. He noted that these countries then undertook to reduce poverty below 5 percent, saying Azerbaijan is one of the 29 countries that coped with this task. He said that Azerbaijan will be awarded with a special medal of FAO at the organization`s conference this June. Jose Graziano da Silva said that Azerbaijan`s accomplishments in this field will be a good example for regional countries.

The parties discussed prospects for cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.