Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has reaffirmed the strength of Saudi-Azeri relationships indicating that his current visit is part of the constant efforts aimed at enhancing the bilateral trade exchange and developing economic ties. In an interview with Saudi Television, telecast last night, President Aliyev praised the Saudi support to his country which helped in overcoming numerous crises. He said his talks with Saudi leadership had focused on the bilateral relations, adding that these talks had been "highly successful." He pointed out that the political relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are at high levels but the economic ones are not at par with those of the political ties. "There is a government joint committee which has been working for years to enhance the economic and trade ties and this committee is now working to study and analyze these facilities and opportunities," Aliyev said. "In my point of view, the opening of direct flights between the two countries will help in strengthening the economic ties," he added. Answering a question about the call of Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, to convene an Islamic Summit in Makkah, Aliyev said that the main thing which concern him is the negative social opinion about Islam in addition to wars and conflicts inside Muslim countries. "We support this call which will discuss many issues and may handle a program for future activities and procedures to confront these challenges," Aliyev said.
