President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Pedro Agramunt.

The head of state congratulated Pedro Agramunt on his election as President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and described his visiting Azerbaijan shortly after his election as a good sign of the bilateral cooperation. Noting that Azerbaijan`s cooperation with the organization spans 15 years, President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe continues its contribution to the positive development processes. The head of state expressed confidence that the partnership would advance to a new level of development.

Expressing his pleasure to visit Baku, PACE President Pedro Agramunt noted that it was one of his first foreign visits after his election to this post. He added that the country is of great importance to him. Pedro Agramunt stressed the significance of discussing the issues of mutual interest at a time when the world, especially Europe faced different challenges, adding that Azerbaijan was an important country from the point of view of resolution of some issues.

During the meeting, the sides said there were good opportunities for expanding relations between Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe on the basis of mutual trust and respect, and discussed a number of issues related to the development of cooperation.