Lithuanian official: We are looking forward to Ilham Aliyev's visit to Vilnius

"We are looking forward to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's visit to Vilnius," the chairman of the Lithuanian Parliament's Economics Committee, Kazys Starkevičius said.

Commenting on Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov's visit to Vilnius on May 8 in a conversation with Report, the MP first drew attention to the issues discussed:

"An inter-governmental delegation led by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis and his Azerbaijani counterpart met in Vilnius on May 8. The ministers noted that the political dialogue between the two countries has expanded significantly over the past year or two. The ministers chaired the 7th meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Bilateral Cooperation between the Government of Lithuania and the Government of Azerbaijan. Thus, both sides have confirmed their interest in continuing to enhance cooperation in the practical sphere".

Starkevičius underlined that the parties are interested in bilateral trade. According to him, in 2022 trade turnover between Lithuania and Azerbaijan increased by 19% and reached almost 61 million euros.

As for relations of Azerbaijan with the EU, Starkevičius said that the Lithuanian side hopes for a soon conclusion of negotiations on the new agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan:

"The agreement remains a political priority and could play a key role in supporting the Azerbaijani government's efforts to diversify the economy. The EU highly values Azerbaijan's role in the diversification of Europe's energy supply and stresses that the rule of law, respect for human rights, and fundamental freedoms are at the core of EU relations with Azerbaijan".