Baku, November 06, 2025 – The Europe Today: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received a NATO delegation comprising the permanent representatives of Türkiye, Greece, Hungary, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Portugal, and Spain to NATO, as well as the deputy permanent representatives of the United States and France.
During the meeting, Türkiye’s Permanent Representative to NATO, Basat Öztürk, emphasized the importance of President Ilham Aliyev’s reception of the Alliance delegation, recalling the Azerbaijani leader’s previous visits to NATO headquarters. He highlighted that the foundations of Azerbaijan’s current stage of development were laid by National Leader Heydar Aliyev and noted that, under President Ilham Aliyev’s leadership, the country has become even stronger across all sectors.
The delegates extended their congratulations to President Ilham Aliyev on the achievements realized in Washington regarding the advancement of the peace agenda between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
President Ilham Aliyev expressed his gratitude for the congratulations and highlighted the special role of U.S. President Donald Trump in facilitating these agreements, stating that the understandings reached would open up broad opportunities for regional development.
Recalling his visits to NATO headquarters, President Aliyev pointed out that Azerbaijan’s cooperation with the Alliance extends beyond support for operations in Afghanistan, encompassing areas such as regional development and energy security. He emphasized that the Azerbaijani Army has been brought into alignment with NATO standards and noted the close cooperation between the Azerbaijani and Turkish armed forces in this context.
The head of state underlined that since regaining independence at the beginning of the last century, Azerbaijan has achieved its primary national goal—the liberation of its territories from occupation—and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to continuing the modernization of its armed forces.
President Aliyev expressed hope that the NATO delegation’s visit to Azerbaijan would be successful and fruitful.
During the discussions, it was noted that Azerbaijan remains a valuable partner of NATO. The contributions of Azerbaijani peacekeepers—who were the last military personnel to withdraw from Afghanistan—were commended, along with Azerbaijan’s support for the Resolute Support mission and its growing role as a regional transport and logistics hub.
Both sides reaffirmed the close friendly and strategic relations between Azerbaijan and NATO member states. They noted that Azerbaijan has been an active participant in NATO’s initiatives since 1994 within the framework of the Partnership for Peace Program.
The meeting also included an exchange of views on the prospects of Azerbaijan-NATO cooperation, as well as discussions on regional and global developments.
