An opening ceremony of the Azerbaijani-German Economic Forum has been held in Berlin.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the event.

Greeting President Ilham Aliyev, Vice-Chancellor of the Federative Republic of Germany Sigmar Gabriel hailed the organization of the forum. He expressed his confidence in the success of the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe to be held in Baku in a few days.

Highlighting the importance of the Southern Gas Corridor project, Sigmar Gabriel described it as a new project which would deliver the hydrocarbon resources of the Caspian Sea to Europe.

The Vice-Chancellor praised Azerbaijan's achievements, saying that the country ranked first in the world for its economic development. He underlined the successful operation of German companies in Azerbaijan. Mr. Gabriel expressed his concern about the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which he described as the greatest challenge facing Azerbaijan. He said there was optimism about the settlement of the dispute after the Vienna meeting.

Addressing the forum, President Ilham Aliyev described Azerbaijan and Germany as good partners. The head of state underlined the active political dialogue between the two countries.

Drawing the audience's attention to the recent developments on the troops' line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh, President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that ceasefire was very fragile. "Armenia can not control the situation and the status quo can not continue this way anymore," President Ilham Aliyev added.

Underlining the importance of the withdrawal of all occupying forces from the occupied territories, the head of state noted that “Azerbaijan experienced a humanitarian crisis as a result of the migration problem, which Europe is now facing, 20 years ago”. He expressed his regret over the failure to impose sanctions on Armenia for not implementing the UN Security Council resolutions.

President Ilham Aliyev expressed his hope that Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway would be launched this year. He said the largest sea port is being constructed in Baku, adding that the country will become a logistics center in the coming years.

Pointing to the fact that last year Azerbaijan hosted the first ever European Games, the head of state noted that the country would host the Formula 1 race this month and the fourth Islamic Solidarity Games next year. President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that this year was declared a Year of Multiculturalism in Azerbaijan.

Knauf Group CEO, board member of the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations Manfred Grundke and head of the German-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Samir Akhundov then highlighted the development of economic relations between Azerbaijan and Germany.