By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: The Embassy of Azerbaijan held a reception on Sunday at Salwa Sabah Al-Ahmed Hall to mark the 105th Independence Day of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On the sidelines of the event, Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Mansour Al-Otaibi said the two countries aspire to develop and strengthen relations in all fields.

"Relations are developing and there is a desire on the part of the two countries to develop and improve them. Azerbaijan is a Muslim country and a country presiding over the Non-Aligned Summit. In March, Azerbaijan hosted a significant summit-level meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Contact Group, which was attended by the minister of foreign affairs. We have several agreements and diplomatic relations that began in 1994 after Azerbaijan emerged from the Soviet Union,” he said.

Azeri Ambassador Emil Karimov said: "Azerbaijan is one of the ancient countries in the world with a rich history, culture and cuisine. Today, Azerbaijan is the leading country in the Caucasus.” He noted that the first years of independence were very difficult and there was chaos, economic crisis, bad social situation and civil war, but this changed with the efforts of the national leader of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev.

Karimov said Azerbaijan-Kuwait relations was founded during the first meeting between Heydar Aliyev and Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah at the OIC summit in Casablanca in 1994. Then the two leaders met in Copenhagen in 1995 and New York in 1996. "We have close and friendly relations with Kuwait, especially in the agriculture sector, light industry and education. We have big potential in the tourism sector. Last year, more than 22,000 Kuwaiti tourists visited Azerbaijan. We are very proud that Kuwaiti people like visiting Azerbaijan,” he added.

The Azerbaijani ambassador said direct flights are operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways between the two countries, with the flight duration being less than 2 hours, inviting guests to visit and enjoy Azerbaijan.