Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev embarked on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev embarked on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates on February 1.

At the Abu Dhabi airport decorated with the national flags of Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates, the head of state was welcomed by Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other officials. Among others present were Dr. Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi, Speaker of Federal National Council, H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor, Vice President of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi, H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, and Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Hamel Al Qubaisi, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan.

An official welcoming ceremony for President Aliyev was held at the Abu Dhabi airport, and a guard of honor was arranged here.

The national anthems of Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates were played. The chief of the guard of honor reported to the Azerbaijani president.

Following the official welcoming ceremony, President Aliyev and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met in an expanded format.

Prior to the meeting, state and government officials of the United Arab Emirates were introduced to President Aliyev, and members of the Azerbaijani delegation were introduced to Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

President Aliyev thanked Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for inviting him to the UAE.

The sides hailed the development of bilateral relations between the two countries, and discussed the issues of further expansion of cooperation in the political, economic, trade, investment and other fields.

They also stressed existence of good opportunities for developing cooperation in tourism field.

President Aliyev hailed the increase in the number of tourists from Azerbaijan to the UAE and vice versa.

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was among the discussed issues as well. The head of state said that 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories were occupied by the Armenian armed forces, with more than one million Azerbaijanis becoming refugees and IDPs. President Aliyev stressed the importance of settling the conflict in compliance with the international law and within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

The President thanked the UAE for supporting the adoption of the resolution on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at the UN General Assembly, saying Azerbaijan also backed the UAE' position within the UN and other international organizations.

The sides expressed their confidence that cooperation will be further developed.

The head of state invited Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to pay an official visit to Azerbaijan.

President Aliyev later visited Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi.

The President visited the grave of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, which is located on the grounds beside the mosque.

It is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates. On Fridays and during holidays the mosque is visited by 40,000 people.

After the head of state toured the mosque, a picture was taken. President Aliyev signed the guest book of the mosque.

Azerbaijan and UAE enjoy fruitful cooperation in various fields and their mutual relations are developing both in the political, economic and cultural fields with ascending line. The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992.

The Azerbaijan State Customs Committee statistics show that in January-September 2015 the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $46.78 million, $42.2 million of which fell on import to Azerbaijan.