Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov, who is on an official visit to the Vatican, met with the Secretary of the Holy See for Relations with States and International Organizations, Archbishop Richard Gallagher.
This is stated in the message of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.
According to this information, the parties discussed the current state and prospects for the development of bilateral relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Holy See, regional and international issues, as well as opportunities for cooperation within international platforms, and emphasized that in order to further deepen cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Holy See, it is important to maintain the momentum of increasing high-level visits. In this context, the official visits of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Vatican, as well as the visit in October of this year of the First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva to the Holy See and the importance of the meetings and events held during the visit were noted.
The implementation of humanitarian projects for conservation and restoration, carried out previously and planned in the future in the Holy See on the initiative of Mehriban Aliyeva and with the support of the Heydar Foundation, was noted with satisfaction Alieva. Mehriban Aliyeva’s visit to Europe’s largest pediatric hospital and research center Bambino Gesù and the importance of cooperation in this area were also mentioned.
During the conversation, the visits of Pope John Paul II in 2002 and Pope Francis in 2016 to Azerbaijan, the ceremony of consecrating the territory for the construction of a Catholic church in Baku in honor of John Paul II, as well as the ongoing construction of this church were noted. Confidence was expressed that the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, which will be celebrated in 2027, will give an additional impetus to the development of cooperation.
The parties discussed Azerbaijan’s successes in the field of religious tolerance, intercultural and interfaith dialogue, as well as work on the restoration and protection of religious monuments, including Christian churches, and noted that the successful policy of Azerbaijan as a country where representatives of different religions and religions live together cultures, contributes to strengthening international peace and mutual understanding.
Concern about global climate change was also expressed, information was provided on the work and initiatives of Azerbaijan as chairman of COP29. The country’s contribution to energy security, its role in the development of transport corridors and relations with the states of Central Asia were discussed.
Minister Jeyhun Bayramov informed his interlocutor in detail about the process of normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations, the agreements reached at the historic Washington summit, practical steps for their implementation, as well as the development of the situation in the region after the conflict.