Azeri President Ilham Aliyev stressed that good possibilities are opening up for cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU in the field of energy, as he met his Slovenian host and counterpart Janez Drnovsek in Brdo pri Kranju on Monday.
The presidents also shared a view that the two countries have a lot of leeway in developing cooperation in the fields of politics, business and culture.
Drnovsek told the press after meeting Aliyev that they also discussed the situation in Nagorno Karabakh, a disputed region in the west of Azerbaijan settled mainly by ethnic Armenians.
Drnovsek said that he hopes the situation in the region, with ownership claims coming from Azerbaijan and neighbouring Armenia, would be resolved soon and offered Slovenia's help in solving the issue.
According to Drnovsek, it is also in the EU's interest to solve the issue as soon as possible. He believes that the leaders of the neighbouring countries are capable of solving it by themselves.
Aliyev meanwhile presented Azerbaijan's take on the Nagorno Karabakh issue, stressing that his country wants to solve the dispute - a threat to the development of the entire region - in line with international standards.
Azerbaijan also insists that Armenia unconditionally withdraws its forces from the region, Aliyev added.
He also pointed out that with its natural resources Azerbaijan presents an important state for securing Europe's energy independence.
Drnovsek said that there is a great potential for Slovenian companies to take part in Azerbaijan's development.
As an EU member, Slovenia is also ready to help the Asian state in building institutions in line with European standards and pass its experience on establishing contact with the EU, he added.
Trade between the two countries amounted to a mere EUR 5m in 2005, yet the number presents a substantial increase on the figure in 2004, which stood at EUR 1.8m.
In the first four months of 2006, Slovenian exports to Azerbaijan amounted to EUR 1.12m, a 54.7% increase year-on-year.
Aliyev began his first official visit to Slovenia on Sunday. He took part in the "Caspian Outlook 2006" energy conference on Bled on Sunday, when he also met PM Janez Jansa and Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel.
He is to close his visit on Tuesday.
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