Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov is due in Athens on Friday for talks with Greece's leadership that will continue the political dialogue begun by Athens and Baku, especially on potential cooperation in energy issues.
During his two-day official visit, Mammadyarov will be received by Prime Minister George Papandreou and Parliament President Philippos Petsalnikos, while a meeting with Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas is scheduled on Friday afternoon.
The two men will sit down to a dinner given by the Greek minister in honour of his Azeri counterpart, followed by joint statements to the press.
Greece and Azerbaijan have had more frequent bilateral contacts after 2009, especially after a visit to Athens by Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev.
Talks between the two sides have mainly focused on economic relations and cooperation in energy projects, with Greece and Italy working together to promote the ITGI natural gas pipeline supplied exclusively by Azerbaijan.
Athens is now striving to ensure that there are adequate quantities of gas for the pipeline to operate, which was the main goal of a visit carried out by Deputy Foreign Minister Spyros Kouvelis to Baku in early February.
source: ANA-MPA
