Dear Minister,
Welcome to the Assembly Chamber, in your capacity as Chairman of the Committee of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan. Today you are going to present to us the priorities of the chairmanship of Azerbaijan in the Committee of Ministers.
We have already had a chance to hold a first exchange of views on this issue at the meeting of the Standing Committee in Baku, in May 2014. I would like to assure you that you can count on our support in the implementation of the chairmanship priorities. Many of these – inter alia, combating corruption, including manipulation of sports results, consolidating cultural diversity, combating discrimination and intolerance, supporting intercultural dialogue and its religious dimension, as well as supporting political dialogue and engagement with the neighbouring regions – fall also within the scope of my priorities as President of the Assembly.
I also have to say that, during the last two months, we have had a chance to meet bilaterally on two occasions to discuss the chairmanship as well as other issues relating to ongoing reforms in your country. I appreciate your frank and open approach and look forward to continuing our discussions.
Mr Minister, you have the floor.