Presidency of Ilham Aliyev

Ilham Aliyev is the 4th President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. His presidency began in 2003, and he was re-elected in 2008, 2013, and 2018.
Elections
On October 15, 2003, the fifth presidential election of Azerbaijan was held. In July of the same year, the CEC registered the candidature of Heydar Aliyev, who at that time was fulfilling the second term of his presidency. Ilham Aliyev also put forward his candidacy. Leaders of the opposition party Musavat Isa Gambar, the National Independence Party of Azerbaijan Etibar Mammadov, the National Unity Party Lala Shevket, the Justice Party Ilyas Ismailov, the Civic Solidarity Party Sabir Rustamkhanli, the Front Party of Azerbaijan Gudrat Hasanguliyev and the Modern Musavat Party Hafiz Hajiyev participated in the elections. On October 2, for reasons of health, Heydar Aliyev withdrew his candidacy in favor of Ilham Aliyev. On October 28, the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan announced that Ilham Aliyev won the election.
On October 31, 2003, the ceremony of inauguration of Ilham Aliyev took place in the “Republic” palace, attended by deputies of the Milli Majlis, representatives of political parties, public organizations, military personnel, religious figures, as well as representatives of foreign countries - President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze, Meetings of Russia Sergei Mironov, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey , Vice President of Iran Seyyid Mohammadali Abtakhi and Prime Minister of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich.
In 2008, the presidential elections in Azerbaijan were held on October 16. The voting took place between 7 candidates from 6 parties (1 independent candidate): Ilham Aliyev from the Yeni Azerbaijan Party, Igbal Agazade from the opposition Umid Party, Fazil Mustafa from the Great Creation Party, Gudrat Hasanguliyev from the Popular Front of the Whole Azerbaijan Party ", Hafiz Hajiyev from the "Contemporary Musavat" party, Fuad Aliyev from the Liberal Democratic Party and independent candidate Gulamhuseyn Alibeyli. Ilham Aliyev became the presidential election winner in Azerbaijan, having collected 88.73% of the vote.
On October 24, 2008, the inauguration ceremony for President Ilham Aliyev's second term was held in the Heydar Aliyev Palace. At the ceremony, the president spoke about the work he had accomplished over the previous 5 years, and his plans for the next 5 years. Representatives of other parties of Azerbaijan, the President of Georgia, the head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation Sergey Naryshkin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey Jamil Cicek and other foreign representatives also attended the event.
On October 9, 2013, the seventh presidential election was held in Azerbaijan. Initially, the elections were scheduled for October 16, but due to the coincidence with Kurban Bayrami, the elections were postponed a week prior. There were 21 candidates, but only 10 of them were officially registered: Ilham Aliyev from the New Azerbaijan Party, Jamil Hasanli from the National Council of Democratic Forces, Hafiz Hajiyev from the Contemporary Musavat Party, Igbal Agazade from the Umid Party, Ilyas Ismailov from the party "Justice", Faraj Guliyev from the party "National Movement of Revival", Gudrat Hasanguliyev from the Popular Front Party of Whole Azerbaijan, Araz Alizade from the Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan, Sardar Mammadov of the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan and Zahid Oruj is an independent candidate. For the first time, the CEC decided to create an opportunity to conduct free campaigning on the television and radio. On each even day of the week, the candidates held round table debates for one hour on television and one hour on radio. Ilham Aliyev won the election by collecting 84.54% of all votes.
On October 19, 2013, in the Parliament (Milli Majlis) of Azerbaijan, the inauguration ceremony of Ilham Aliyev was held. He was elected to the post of the country's president by the results of the voting held on October 9.
Domestic policy
One of the first documents signed by Ilham Aliyev was the decree "On measures to accelerate the social and economic development of the Republic of Azerbaijan", as well as "On the approval of social and economic development of the regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2004-2008)." In the second document, in the first year of the program, 27 large and medium-sized enterprises were opened, and over 135,000 work places.
In 2004, Aliyev approved the law "Long-term strategy for managing oil and gas revenues (2005-2025 gg.)", which provided for the allocation of income from the oil sector to the development of the non-oil sector.
On October 26, 2005, he signed the order approving the "Employment Strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2006-2015)", which provided for the rational use of all resources, in particular labor resources, for building an economically strong society.
In 2007, he signed a decree to pardon a number of convicted persons, as a result of which more than 200 prisoners were released or their punishments were commuted.
Referring to the "Millennium Development Goals" of the United Nations, on September 15, 2008, Ilham Aliyev signed an order approving the "State Program for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2008-2015".
In 2009, he approved the State Program on Socio-Economic Development of the Regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2009-2013, which played an important role in expanding business activities and, accordingly, in the opening of new jobs. This program was aimed at improving the well-being and reducing the poverty level of the population. 5,100 new enterprises, and 72,400 permanent work places were created in 2011. Within the framework of this program, infrastructure was developed: 18 new bridges and tunnels were built in the regions, more than 600 km of roads were repaired and built in total. The program also included providing the country's regions with electricity, gas and heat. For the first time in Azerbaijan, on the territory of the Gobustan region, an experimental polygon of a hybrid type was built and commissioned. On April 8, 2011, the President signed a decree "On writing off the debts of the population to provide drinking water and sewerage services," which resulted in writing off the debts of the population for 294.2 million AZN.
According to the decree of the President dated August 11, 2010, the "State program was approved on development of communication and information technologies in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2010-2012".
The State Program was signed on the “Implementation of the Employment Strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2011-2015)”, which was the second stage within the framework of the "Employment Strategies of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2006-2015)" program on November 15, 2011.
A conference was held dedicated to the results of the third year of the implementation of the "Program for the Development of the Economy during 2009-2013" on February 28, 2012 in Baku. Ilham Aliyev attended the conference. During the discussions, the goals and plans for further development and implementation of program were noted.
By the Decree of the President of Azerbaijan dated July 13, 2012, No. 685 "On the establishment of the State Agency for Services to Citizens and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and on Measures to Improve Services Provided to Citizens", ASAN Centers were established. On September 5, 2012, Ilham Aliyev signed another decree "On Ensuring the Activities of the State Agency for Services to Citizens and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan", which implied the expansion of the types of services and electronic services implemented in the "ASAN Service" centers.
On December 29, 2012, Aliyev signed a decree to approve the Development Concept "Azerbaijan 2020: A Look into the Future".
On January 17, 2013, he issued a decree to establish the Organizing Committee for holding the first European Games in Baku in 2015.
In 2013, to expand the field of study and propaganda of the Azerbaijani language, Ilham Aliyev approved the State Program on the Use of the Azerbaijani Language in the Context of Globalization in Accordance with the Requirements of the Time and the Development of Linguistics in the Country within the framework of the Development Concept "Azerbaijan 2020: A Glance into the Future". The program included 5 priority tasks: improvement of the legal and regulatory framework, expansion of language teaching, expansion of the use of the language, language advocacy in the media and application of information and communication technologies in the study and promotion of the language.
On February 14, 2013, the executive order was signed on "Establishment of the Organizing Committee by Aliyev for holding the World Cup in 2015 and the World Chess Olympiad in 2016" in Baku.
On January 19, 2015, an order was signed by Ilham Aliyev to approve the "Action Plan Related to the Implementation of the State Strategy for the Development of Education in the Republic of Azerbaijan".
On May 13, 2015 took part in the opening of the Bicycle Park. As part of the ceremony, the president got acquainted with the general plan of Bicycle Park and met with members of the bicycle team.
On September 18, 2015, he signed an order on the formation of the Organizing Committee for the IV Games of Islamic Solidarity.
A decree on the establishment of ASAN Kommunal centers within the framework of ASAN signed on May 4, 2016, which provide for the implementation of communal and other client services.
President of Azerbaijan signed an order with the goal of forming and ensuring the further development of tourism in the country on September 2016, "On additional measures for the development of tourism in the Republic of Azerbaijan", based on which was established the Tourism Council .
On October 17, 2016, in the Heydar Aliyev Center was organized an official ceremony, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the establish of the state independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Ilham Aliyev attended the reception and gave a speech.
On November 17, 2017, an order was signed by president for holding the 10th anniversary of the "Baku process".
January 10, 2018, Aliyev signed an order to announce the year 2018 in the Republic of Azerbaijan as the "Year of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic", and on January 18 to hold events in memory of the "100th anniversary of the genocide of Azerbaijanis of 1918".
January 29, 2018 Aliyev took part and gave a speech at conference devoted to the results of the fourth year of the implementation of the State Program for Social and Economic Development of Regions during 2014-2018.
The 6th congress of the New Azerbaijan Party started its work in the Heydar Aliyev Center on February 8, 2018. Chairman of the party, Ilham Aliyev attended the congress and gave a speech.
An order was signed by head of state to approve the "State Program for the Development of Rice Growing in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2018-2025" on February 9, 2018, "The State Program for the Development of Tea Industry in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2018-2027" on February 12, 2018.
Oil diplomacy
On February 3, 2004, in the "Gulustan" Palace, a ceremony of signing documents took place in Baku with the participation of the presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, on the financing of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project. On October 16 of the same year, Ilham Aliyev attended a ceremony of uniting the Azerbaijani and Georgian sections of the main Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline on the Azerbaijani-Georgian border.
On July 12, 2006, the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey met in Istanbul with the main theme of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, as well as cooperation between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. in other areas. The solemn opening ceremony of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline was held on July 13, 2006.
According to the order of Ilham Aliyev dated April 2, 2010, state corporation “Azerikimya” was transferred to SOCAR on the improvement of management mechanisms in the petrochemical industry.
On September 20, 2014 in Baku, took place a solemn ceremony dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the "Contract of the Century" and the laying of the foundation of the Southern Gas Corridor. At the ceremony, along with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev, Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Greece Antonis Samaras, Prime Minister of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic and other foreign representatives also attended the ceremony.
On September 17, 2017, the "New contract of the century" was signed with the participation of Ilham Aliyev, according to Azerbaijan and the international consortium of oil companies agreed on the extension of the “Contract of The Century” - on the joint development of three oil fields - Azeri, Chirag and Gunashli in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea until 2050. The previous contract was valid until 2024. In the new agreement, the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) increased its share from 11% to 25%. At the signing ceremony, Ilham Aliyev awarded BP General Director Robert Dudley with the Order of Friendship.
Foreign policy
Relations with America
On April 28, 2006 a meeting of Ilham Aliyev and President of the United States of America George W. Bush took place in the White House in Washington. At the meeting, the parties discussed the implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project, as well as the situation in the region and on the international scene.
On May 29, 2013, the Azerbaijani-American forum "A Look into the Future" in Baku. Ilham Aliyev attended the opening ceremony.
In April 2016, Ilham Aliyev attended the V Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, in the framework of which the President met with the US Secretary of State John Kerry. The parties discussed the importance of the fight against terrorism, and John Kerry mentioned Azerbaijan's participation in the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan. The day before, Ilham Aliyev met with US Vice President Joe Biden. Prospects for further expansion of bilateral relations in all areas as well as in the economic sphere discussed at the meeting.
On September 21, 2017, Ilham Aliyev met with US President Donald Trump in New York, in the framework of the 72nd Assembly of the United Nations.
Relations with Europe
On October 12-13, 2004, a delegation headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe Jan Peterson, arrived in Baku on a visit. The delegation was received by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. Was discussed the cooperation of Azerbaijan with Norway and with the Council of Europe.
Within the framework of the Baku process in Baku, on December 2-3, 2008, a conference of Ministers of Culture of the member states of the Council of Europe was held. The theme of the conference was "Intercultural dialogue - the basis of peace and sustainable development of Europe and neighboring regions".
In the framework of Ilham Aliyev's working visit to France, on June 24, 2014 in Strasbourg, the president met with Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Anne Brasser; the sides discussed the current state and prospects of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Within the framework of the visit, Ilham Aliyev also met with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thornbjorn Jagland. On the same day, the Ilham Aliyev gave a speech on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
On May 5, 2017, Ilham Aliyev met with the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Gabriela Battaini-Dragoni. At the meeting was discussed, the cooperation between the AR and the CoE.
Shortly after assuming office, Ilham Aliyev attended the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva on December 10, 2003. Ilham Aliyev met with the President of Macedonia Boris Trajkovski with the President of Kyrgyzstan Askar Akayev, the President of Armenia Robert Kocharian, the Director General of the UN Office and other foreign representatives within the framework of the summit.
The first official visit to France was made by Ilham Aliyev in January 2004. Ilham Aliyev met with Jacques Chirac in June of the same year, during the Istanbul Summit of NATO and in September, during a business visit to France.
In February 2004, the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia, Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin signed the Moscow Declaration detailing the Azerbaijani-Russian relations.
On February 24-26, 2005, Ilham Aliyev paid an official visit to Italy and met with the leadership of the Italian state and participated in the business forum "The presentation of Azerbaijan", organized by the Institute of Foreign Trade of Italy. During the visit, new agreements were signed between Italy and Azerbaijan in connection with cooperation in the field of customs, information, telecommunications, sports, culture, municipality, justice.
On January 29, 2007, Ilham Aliyev was awarded with "Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor of the French Republic" at the ceremony in Paris, which in turn French President Jacques Chirac was awarded with “the Order of Heydar Aliyev”.
On March 9, 2007, the 1st Forum of the leaders of world Azerbaijani and Turkish diaspora organizations was held in the Heydar Aliyev Palace, with participation of Ilham Aliyev and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In January 2012, Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met in Sochi, an additional agreement was signed between Azerbaijan and Russia for the purchase and sale of natural gas with the participation of presidents.
On February 4, 2012 Ilham Aliyev took part in the discussion on the topic "Energy, Resources and the Environment: New Security Parameters" at the Munich Security Conference.
May 11, 2014, as part of the official visit of French President Francois Hollande to Azerbaijan, together with Ilham Aliyev familiarized with the construction of the Baku French Lyceum.
In June 2015, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the opening ceremony of the European Games with the invitation of Ilham Aliyev, in Baku.
In January 2016, the World Economic Forum was held in Davos, Switzerland with attending of Ilham Aliyev . Within the framework of the forum the president held a number of meetings, and also took part in the session on the topic "New Energy Balance".
In January 2018, Ilham Aliyev made another visit to Davos to participate in the World Economic Forum, within the framework of which he met with the Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Mohammed Barkindo, Georgian Prime Minister Georgy Kvirikashvili, Vice President of Microsoft Michel Van Der Belem and with other high-ranking officials. The President took part in discussions on the topic "Strategic Perspectives: Eurasia", at which the head of state told about the implemented reforms, projects, as well as future plans.
On January 29, 2018, Ilham Aliyev signed an order approving the Work Program between the Ministry of Education of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Human Resources of Hungary for 2018-2020.
Relations with Asia
On September 11, 2008, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov paid an official visit to Azerbaijan and met with Ilham Aliyev. Within the framework of the meeting, official documents were signed in the field of environmental protection, cooperation in the areas related to information and communication technologies and rail transport. On September 12, the Presidents took part in the opening ceremony of a monument of Uzbek poet Alisher Navoi in Baku.
On June 28-29, 2009, for the first time in Azerbaijan, the President of Israel, three ministers and a delegation of 50 business people visited Azerbaijan with the participation of the Azerbaijani president. The first agreement included cooperation in the field of communications, and the other in education, science and technology.
On December 1, 2014, Ilham Aliyev met with the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, who was in Baku on a working visit. Afghanistan's executive head Abdullah Abdullah was also attended the meeting.
On September 6, 2017, Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea Park Jyu-sung. At the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the tense situation on the Korean peninsula.
On November 30, 2017, a delegation led by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of India Mobashar Dzhavedom Akbar was received by Ilham Aliyev. The upcoming ministerial conference in Baku within the framework of the "Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process", as well as prospects for bilateral relations discussed at the meeting.
On December 1, 2017, the opening of the international conference "The Heart of Asia" devoted to regional cooperation aimed at long-term stabilization of the situation in Afghanistan was held in Baku. President of Afghanistan Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev participated in the opening of conference.
On the initiative of the Azerbaijani President on February 6, 2018, a memorandum was signed between Azerbaijan Railways CJSC and China Corporation for the Construction of Roads and Bridges within the framework of the international conference held in Beijing.
Relations with Caucasus
On February 7, 2007, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey signed an intergovernmental agreement on the creating of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway corridor. On the same day, during visit to Georgia, Ilham Aliyev attended the opening ceremony of the Heydar Aliyev Avenue in the center of the Tbilisi.
On March 25, 2007, a solemn opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, with participations of the heads of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey took place.
On July 1, 2008, Ilham Aliyev took part in the summit of the heads of state of the International Organization for Democracy and Economic Development was held in Batumi. After the meeting, a joint conference of the heads of state was held.
On May 20, 2009, Ilham Aliyev received the President of Georgia in Baku. Within the framework of the visit, the signing ceremony of the Azerbaijani-Georgian documents took place with the participation of the presidents: a protocol on amendments to the Agreement between the Governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Georgia on air communication, a protocol on amendments to the Agreement signed in 1996 between the governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Georgia on free trade, an agreement between the governments of Azerbaijan and Georgia on cooperation in the field of intellectual property protection.
On August 21, 2017, the Ministry for Emergency Situations sent a helicopter to Georgia to extinguish the fire in Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park on the order of Ilham Aliyev.
On October 30, 2017, the official opening ceremony of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line (BTK) took place, in which Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Georgian Prime Minister Georgy Kvirikashvili took part.
On December 22, 2017, Ilham Aliyev received Georgian Finance Minister Mamuku Bakhtadze. This was the first visit of the Minister, after the assignment to a new position. Cooperation in all spheres was discussed, as well as the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project.
Relations with Islamic Countries
On July 8, 2004, a meeting with Ilham Aliyev was held within the framework of the three-day official visit of the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Parviz Musharraf to Azerbaijan, and prospects for the development of relations between the two countries were discussed, as well as intergovernmental agreements on combating illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. A joint declaration was signed between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
On September 18, 2012, the opening ceremony of the new halls of the Louvre Museum in Paris devoted to Islamic art took place, in which Ilham Aliyev and the first lady of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva also took part.
On March 5, 2017, within the framework of the trilateral meeting between Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia, Ilham Aliyev and Hasan Rouhani signed a memorandum of cooperation between the railway companies. On July 19 of the same year, Ilham Aliyev signed a decree approving this Memorandum of Understanding between Azerbaijan Railways and Iranian Railways on the development of railways.
On May 21, 2017, Ilham Aliyev attended the Arab-Islamic-American summit in Riyadh. At the summit, along with other heads of Islamic countries also US President, Donald Trump. The summit was held under the motto "Together we are strong."
On November 1, 2017, Ilham Aliyev, within the framework of the summit of the heads of state of Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran, arrived with a working visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran.
Relations with Africa
On November 29, 2016, Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa Maite Nkuan-Mashabane. The sides discussed the development of cooperation between the countries.
On April 10, 2017, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan instructed to send humanitarian aid to Djibouti, which consisted of food products - sugar, tea, butter, flour, flour products, drinking water. 80 tons of products and 20 tons of drinking water were sent by the plane of "Azerbaijan Airlines".
December 21, 2017, Aliyev met with the Mufti of Egypt Shauka Ibrahim Allam. The importance of the international conference "2017 - the Year of Islamic Solidarity: Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue", which was held in Baku on the same day was discussed.
On February 1, 2018, Ilham Aliyev received Executive Director of Smart Africa Initiative Hamadoun Toure, whose members are 22 countries in Africa. The topics of discussion were the activities of the Initiative, as well as its future cooperation with Azerbaijan.
Relations with international organizations
Relations with UN
In March 2006, Ilham Aliyev, in the framework of cooperation with UNICEF, approved the state program (2006-2015) on the transfer of children from orphanages to families and alternative care.
On May 4, 2012, A meeting of the Security Council devoted to the fight against terrorism was held at a UN headquarters with the participation of Ilham Aliyev, in New York.
On April 28, 2015, the Global Forum of Open Societies, was launched in Baku with participation of Ilham Aliyev.
On November 17, 2015, in Paris, Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban Aliyeva participated in the Forum of Leaders of the 38th session of the General Conference of UNESCO at which the President gave a speech.
On February 18, 2017, Ilham Aliyev, as part of his visit to Munich, met with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. This was their first meeting after the election of the second secretary-general.
On May 4-6, 2017, Baku hosted the 4th World Forum of Intercultural Dialogue with the participation of Ilham Aliyev.
On September 18, 2017 Ilham Aliyev arrived in New York for participation in the UN General Assembly, where he delivered a speech on September 20.
Relations with NATO
A conference on planning the NATO training called “Cooperative Best Effort”was held in Baku on January 12-14, 2004. And on July 14-19, "NATO Week" was held in Baku. On November 5, 2004, the NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jaap De Hoop Scheffer, visited Azerbaijan and met with the President of the country.
On November 8, 2006, Ilham Aliyev visited NATO Headquarters to discuss the relations between NATO and Azerbaijan, as well as regional security issues. During the visit, he met with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, gave a speech at North Atlantic Council and discussed the way forward development of cooperation within the framework of the Individual Partnership Action Plan, which Azerbaijan signed with NATO in 2005 with the Secretary General.
On April 29, 2009, Ilham Aliyev visited NATO Headquarters and held a bilateral meeting with the NATO Secretary General. The main topics of discussion were the situation of the region, energy security and the further development of relations between the international organization and Azerbaijan.
On February 15, 2012, Ilham Aliyev visited NATO headquarters and met with Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. During the discussions, the Secretary General thanked Aliyev for supporting the Afghan National Security Forces. On September 7 of the same year, Anders Fog Rasmussen made his first visit to Azerbaijan, Baku, within the framework of which he visited the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy. The Secretary General noted Azerbaijan's participation in the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan and expressed appreciation to the Alliance for additional support to NATO operations.
In 2014, Azerbaijan celebrated the 20th anniversary of Azerbaijan's membership in the “Partnership for Peace” program and, in connection with this, Ilham Aliyev paid a visit to Brussels in January and gave a speech at a press conference.
On November 23, 2017, during the visit to Brussels Ilham Aliyev visited the NATO headquarters and met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Relations with EU
On January 13, 2011, Ilham Aliyev and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso signed a Joint Declaration on the supply of Azerbaijani gas from the Shah Deniz 2 field to Europe via the South Gas Corridor (the groundbreaking ceremony was held in 2014).
On November 14, 2016, the EU Council approved the mandate of the European Commission and the EU High Representative for negotiating with Azerbaijan. On February 6, Ilham Aliyev paid a visit to Brussels, and on February 7 discussion began.
On October 4, 2017, Ilham Aliyev received a delegation headed by the Chairman of the Committee for Policy and Security of the Council of the European Union. On December 4 of the same year, he received a delegation led by the special representative of the European Union for the South Caucasus, Toivo Claar.
On November 25, 2017, the President of Azerbaijan, took part in the summit of the "Eastern Partnership" at the invitation of the President of the Council of the European Union, Donald Tusk.
Relatios with OIC
An emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Mecca was held in December 2005, with the participation of Ilham Aliyev. Within the framework of the visit, the President of Azerbaijan held meetings with the Prime Minister of Malaysia Abdullah Ahmed Badawi, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of Russia in the Federal Far Eastern District Kamil Iskhakov, OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Chairman of the Great National Assembly of Turkey Bulend Arynjem and other officials.
The 33rd session of the foreign ministers of the OIC member countries with the participation of Ilham Aliyev began in Baku, in 2006, as the result of session the chairmanship of the Organization was transferred to Azerbaijan.
On April 14, 2016, the XIII Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), with participation of Ilham Aliyev began in Istanbul.

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