On December 7, Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, received a delegation led by Igor Babushkin, the Governor of the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation, the Press Office of the Azerbaijani President reported.

The head of state praised Azerbaijan's fruitful cooperation with individual federal subjects of the Russian Federation, including the Astrakhan region. He emphasized the role of this cooperation in developing Azerbaijan-Russia relations. Saying that the bilateral relations with Russia successfully developed in 2022, President Ilham Aliyev stressed the importance of reciprocal visits and the interregional forum held in Baku in this regard. Touching upon the existence of traditional neighborly relations between Azerbaijan and the Astrakhan region, Aliyev lauded the implementation of cooperation plans.

Expressing gratitude for the warm words, Igor Babushkin noted that the cooperation of the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation with Azerbaijan continues successfully and described the 4-fold increase in cargo transportation according to the results of the nine months of this year as a good sign of the bilateral relations. He also pointed out that the range of export and import products has expanded. Noting the significance of the interregional forum held in Baku, the governor underlined that cooperation between the Astrakhan region and Azerbaijan contributes to the expansion of Azerbaijan-Russia ties.

During the meeting, the sides touched on the importance of the projects implemented by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in the Astrakhan region, adding that several events will be held in Astrakhan next year to mark the 100th anniversary of the National Leader.

During the conversation, the parties also discussed humanitarian cooperation.