On January 28, an official welcome ceremony was held for Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Press Office of the Azerbaijani President reported. A guard of honor was arranged for the Egyptian President in the square decorated with the two countries national flags. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev welcomed El-Sisi.

Ilham Aliyev and Abdel Fattah El-Sisi held a one-on-one meeting after the official welcome ceremony.

The expanded meeting between Azerbaijan and Egypt

On the same day, Ilham Aliyev and El-Sisi held an expanded meeting.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said: "Mr. President had a meeting with Azerbaijani businessmen yesterday. According to the information I have, the meeting has produced very good results. Of course, the joint activity of business communities will further strengthen our relations. We have also identified areas of future cooperation. I am sure that both mutual investments and an increase in trade turnover will be possible shortly."

President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi stated: "Mr. President, we have also agreed that facilitating measures should be taken in our countries for both Azerbaijani and Egyptian investors. The establishment of joint ventures and joint investments, mainly in the field of pharmaceuticals, is also part of the agreement reached between us. As you mentioned, after the list of all the medicines Azerbaijan needs is developed and presented to us, we will do our work in this direction."

Azerbaijan and Egypt sign documents

A ceremony of signing documents

 was held following the expanded meeting of Aliyev and El-Sisi.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt Sameh Hassan Shoukry signed a "Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in water resource management between the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Arab Republic of Egypt."

Jeyhun Bayramov and Sameh Hassan Shoukry signed a "Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of culture between the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Culture of the Arab Republic of Egypt."

Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Mikayil Jabbarov and Minister of Planning and Economic Development of Egypt Hala Helmy el-Said signed a "Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Arab Republic of Egypt."

Presidents of Azerbaijan and Egypt made press statements

Following the ceremony of signing documents, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt made press statements.

Regarding the composition of the Security Council, Aliyev emphasized, "Issues related to the UN have been discussed worldwide for many years. Opinions are being exchanged about reforms in the UN. I stated in one of my speeches that there is a great need for these reforms. I believe that the composition of the Security Council should be expanded. One permanent seat should be given to a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation itself must nominate this candidate through consultations. Another permanent seat should be given to the Non-Aligned Movement, and the country holding the position of chair of the Non-Aligned Movement should have this seat. I think it would be fair. Because almost 80 years have passed since World War II, the world has changed, and these changes continue rapidly. Therefore, I believe these reforms will create a fairer and safer world."

On commercial and economic issues, he added: "At the same time, we have extensively discussed commercial and economic issues. Last year, a meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission was held in Azerbaijan. On the eve of the commission's next meeting, we must implement the agreements reached together with our distinguished guest today so that concrete steps can be taken at the next meeting. Areas have also been identified – pharmaceuticals, industrial sectors, aluminum industry, energy, oil industry, including renewables. There are great opportunities here too."

About existing obstacles in the way of foreign investors in Egypt, Sisi stated, "During the meetings, we talked about the measures taken in the direction of removing the existing obstacles in the way of foreign investors in Egypt, creating conditions for them and further facilitating legal procedures. Considering that Egypt plays the role of a gateway to the African continent, we emphasized the importance of the agreements signed in the field of free trade between our countries. At the same time, I specifically mentioned the existence of a direct air connection between Baku and Sharm el-Sheikh, and stated the importance of increasing the number of direct flights between the two countries, which would contribute to our cooperation in the fields of economy and trade."