President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by Minister of Commerce and Industry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Tawfig Fawzan Alrabiah on May 15.

The president said Azerbaijani-Saudi Arabian relations were based on close friendship, adding the bilateral cooperation was on a high level. Expressing his pleasure at his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and his fruitful meetings there, President Aliyev noted the importance of high-level visits in terms of the strengthening of partnership.

President Aliyev said there were good opportunities for the cooperation in various areas, including investment making, joint projects, agriculture, petrochemical industry, tourism, construction, and industry. President Aliyev expressed his confidence that the visit of the large Saudi Arabian would be fruitful.

Tawfig Fawzan Alrabiah in turn said the delegation was deeply impressed by the ongoing rapid development processes, redevelopment work and modern infrastructure in Baku.

The minister said the two countries had strong bilateral ties. He said that, instructed by the Saudi King, he is visiting Azerbaijan with a large delegation representing various areas, adding that despite strong ties and mutual respect, the bilateral trade was unsatisfactory.

The minister said that his country was interested in carrying out large-scaled work in Azerbaijan, noting the significance of the visit of the Azerbaijani delegation of businessmen to Saudi Arabia in terms of the creation of cooperation opportunities in a variety of fields.