September 7, 2012

His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev,
President of Republic of Azerbaijan

Excellency,

I sincerely congratulate You on occasion of the 20th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Republic of Azerbaijan and Japan.

After the gaining of independence by the Republic of Azerbaijan, the two countries established strong ties of friendship.

Recently, during the Great East Japan Earthquake which took place in March of the last year, many people, headed by Your Excellency, visited Japan, shared the grief of Japanese people, expressed their condolence and consolation and showed their support. Once again, I express my gratitude.

Azerbaijan, which possesses rich energy resources in the Caspian sea area, managed to diversify its exports and to achieve a remarkable level of economic growth in recent years, is a contributor to stable development of South Caucasus, and is an important partner of our country. Up to this date we had close dialogues between our country and Azerbaijan, the cooperation for the strengthening your state has continued, and as a result of this our friendly relations were further developed.

During 2006 visit of Your Excellency, an opportunity was created for a breakthrough in development of relations between the two countries, and the ”Joint statement for the further development of friendship and partnership between state of Japan and Republic of Azerbaijan’ announced at that time, became the basis for the development of the all areas of relations in political, economical, cultural, human exchanges between the two countries. I am very pleased with participation of Your Excellency in the ground-breaking ceremony of the project of construction of Shimal Gas Bukhar station project within the Official Development Assistance of our country, indicated in the ”Joint session for the further development of friendship and partnership between state of Japan and Republic of Azerbaijan”. I am very glad that the cooperation between the two countries, based on the joint statement, shows excellent results.

Currently both countries have close cooperation both in economic and political spheres.

In the international arena, starting from this year, I hope for the further development of cooperation between our country and Republic of Azerbaijan, which plays an important role at UN Security Council for the preservation of peace and stability of international community.

Availing myself of the opportunity of the 20th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Republic of Azerbaijan and Japan, I hope for the further deepening and development of relations with Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani people.

I wish health and activity to Your Excellency, and happiness to the people of Azerbaijan.

Yours sincerely,

Yoshihiko Noda
Prime Minister of Japan