Prior to the meeting a joint photo was taken.

First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva expressed her confidence that the visit of Segolene Royal to Azerbaijan will be successful. Mehriban Aliyeva hailed the development of relations between Azerbaijan and France in many areas and stressed that bilateral political relations are at the highest level. She described President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to France last year and her own visit this year, the negotiations held and the documents signed as an indicative of the high level of political ties.

Praising the successful development of cooperation in the economic sphere, the First Vice-President pointed out the existence of good potential in this area. She noted that Azerbaijan is the largest trading partner of France in the South Caucasus, underlining positive dynamics in the turnover between the two countries. “It is gratifying that along with energy cooperation, which is a traditional area of partnership, our cooperation is also expanding in the non-oil sector,” the First Vice-President said. She noted the successful activities of a number of French companies in Azerbaijan and emphasized the strengthening of ties in areas such as high technologies, transport and winemaking.

Emphasizing the importance of cooperation between the two countries in the humanitarian sphere, Mehriban Aliyeva noted the successful activities of the Baku French Lyceum, the foundation of which was laid with the participation of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and France, and the Azerbaijani-French University established on the initiative of the two countries’ presidents. She pointed out that the humanitarian sphere plays a major role in bringing the two countries and peoples closer to each other. Highlighting the recent work carried out in this direction, First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva said that the signing of agreements on friendship and cooperation between the cities of Azerbaijan and France creates conditions for further development of friendly relations between the two countries and nations. Welcoming Segolene Royal to Azerbaijan again, Mehriban Aliyeva wished her a successful visit.

French Ambassador for the Arctic and Antarctic Poles Segolene Royal said that she is honored to meet with First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva. Recalling Mehriban Aliyeva’s recent visit to Paris, she highly appreciated it. Noting that she had visited the Azerbaijani-French University in Baku prior to the meeting, Segolene Royal stressed that such projects embody the cooperation between the two countries.

The sides also discussed the issues of mutual interest.