Assa-Irada,
12, May 2008

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Monday had a one-on-one meeting with Swiss Confederation President Pascal Couchepin paying an informal visit to Baku.

The two leaders praised the successful development of relations between the two countries, citing good prospects for further expanding them. They stressed the importance of high-level meetings between representatives of Azerbaijan and Switzerland, voicing confidence that the Swiss president's visit would serve to furthering ties.

Presidents Aliyev and Couchepin also exchanged views on regional and international issues.

In a meeting with Parliament Speaker Ogtay Asadov, Couchepin underscored the importance of stepping up Azeri-Swiss inter-parliamentary relations, saying a joint friendship group would be set up in the Swiss legislature in the future.

Touching on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, Couchepin said his country backed a peaceful settlement to the dispute in accord with Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.

Couchepin, who arrived in Baku on Saturday night, has visited the Gobustan state preserve. He was informed that Gobustan, which is located 65 km away from the capital, is one of the revered ancient historical sights of the country. Research conducted in the area has revealed that there are 6,000 inscriptions on over 1,000 rocks there. Over 40 burial mounds and some 105,000 cultural samples have been discovered at the preserve as well.

The Swiss delegation was informed that the preserve, which encompasses an area of over 4,000 hectares and has 6,000 on-rock carvings, has been included in UNESCO's cultural heritage list.

Couchepin also visited the Sangachal oil terminal, Garadagh Cement company, Caspian Fish Co., and toured Icheri Sheher (Old City), a historical monument downtown Baku.