On September 16, an official welcome ceremony was held in Shusha for Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates, with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hosting the event.

On the same day, Aliyev held both one-on-one and expanded meetings with Sheikh Mohamed in Shusha. Addressing the meeting, Aliyev emphasized the significance of the visit to the liberated lands of Karabakh and highlighted the signing of the Joint Declaration on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, calling it a document that raised political relations to the highest level. Aliyev also noted the growing cooperation in energy, transport, and renewable energy, underlining the role of UAE companies as strategic partners in Azerbaijan’s renewable energy projects.

Sheikh Mohamed, in turn, recalled the July meeting in Abu Dhabi as a turning point for bilateral cooperation and noted that trade turnover, particularly in the non-oil sector, had reached $2.24 billion in 2024. He stressed the importance of expanding cooperation in renewable energy, food security, culture, and other sectors, emphasizing that the Declaration on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership reflected the will of both nations to elevate relations further. Sheikh Mohamed also underlined the UAE’s support for peace and security in the Caucasus, including efforts towards a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Following the meetings, Aliyev and Sheikh Mohamed posed for photographs in front of the Shusha Fortress. A ceremony was then held for the exchange of documents signed between Azerbaijan and the UAE, with Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and UAE Minister of State Saeed Al Hajeri participating.

The signed documents included the Joint Declaration on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, as well as numerous memorandums of understanding covering labor cooperation, transport, energy, prosecution, media, tourism, small and medium business development, green energy zones, artificial intelligence, shipbuilding, education, and investment in the Southern Gas Corridor and Azer Turk Bank. Among the agreements, a shipbuilding contract was signed between "Baku Shipyard" LLC and "Abu Dhabi Ports Company" PJSC for the construction and sale of two container vessels.