Baku/information office / 8 march 2016/ HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on Tuesday held a round of official talks with President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev at the presidential palace in Baku. At the outset of the meeting, President Aliyev welcomed HH the Emir and the delegation accompanying him and expressed his pleasure at the visit, voicing his certainty that it will enhance the friendship and fraternity ties between the two countries. He noted that a number of agreements will be signed as a legal foundation for the development of cooperation ties between Azerbaijan and Qatar, highlighting the distinguished political relations and the fruitful cooperation between them in international institutions, particularly the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, expressing his gratitude to HH the Emir and Qatar for backing Azerbaijan's initiatives in international forums. The president stressed his keenness on promoting economic cooperation to the level of political cooperation between them, pointing to the substantial opportunities available in the fields of energy, tourism, agriculture, technology, transport and investment, and praising the creation of the joint committee that will work to enhance cooperation in this regard, especially with Qatar recognized globally for a lively, successful and stable economy. He called for raising commercial exchange as one of the main objectives of future cooperation between the two countries, noting that the number of Qatari tourists is rapidly growing and that there are direct flights between the two countries, which will stimulate the tourism sector and grow rapprochement ties between the two peoples. At the end, the president expressed his gratitude to HH the Emir for accepting his invitation to visit Azerbaijan, noting that it will provide more opportunities for the development of existing ties based on mutual respect, trust, friendship and fraternity. For his part, HH the Emir expressed his thanks to the Azerbaijani president for the invitation, underlining the distinguished and strong political ties between Qatar and Azerbaijan and the spirit of understanding and cooperation between the two countries whether at the bilateral level or mutual level through the different international organizations and institutions. HH the Emir highlighted the significance of promoting bilateral relations between the two countries, particularly in the economic and commercial fields in order to achieve more joint cooperation, especially as the visit will increase the chances of enhancing them on all fronts, particularly in the fields of energy, tourism and culture as well as through the signing of cooperation agreements that will serve the mutual interests of the two fraternal peoples. During the session, the two sides discussed aspects of expanding fields of bilateral cooperation and means of boosting and developing them on all fronts so as to achieve the mutual will and interests of both countries, in addition to issues of common concern. Talks also touched on developments in the Middle East, Central Asia and the world as they exchanged views and stances towards them. Their Excellencies members of the official delegation accompanying HH the Emir attended the session. A number of ministers also attended from the Azerbaijani side.