On November 13, Minister of Internal Affairs, Colonel-General Vilayat Eyvazov received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to our country Zakari Gross.
Having welcomed the guest, Minister V.Eyvazov congratulated Mr. Gross on the appointment to this post, wished success in his diplomatic work and expressed hope for further extension of relations between Azerbaijan and France.
Recalling the rich traditions of bilateral relations and the undeniable merits of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev in the establishment of these relations, Colonel General Vilayat Eyvazov noted that President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva are attaching great importance to further strengthening of the friendly relations and strategic partnership between our countries and peoples. Minister also stressed that such attention not only contributed to the maintenance and sustainable and comprehensive development of mutually beneficial cooperation but also provided a fundamentally new level for the cooperation between Azerbaijan and France in all spheres as a result of the political will and mutual visits of the heads of states.
The Minister then informed the French diplomat about the complex socio-political situation in our country in the first years of independence, return of National Leader Heydar Aliyev to power at the request of the people, fundamental legal, democratic and socio-economic reforms carried out under his leadership, resolute fight against crime, restoration of stability, control of the crime situation. It was noted that new laws have been adopted based on democratic principles to regulate the activities of the police as part of integration of the country into Europe. The Minister also emphasized the considerable role of specialists from a number of international organizations and developed countries including France in this work and in the enforcement of these laws.

Speaking about the existing relations between the Ministries of Internal Affairs, Minister V.Eyvazov recalled that this cooperation was maintained mainly through the regional attaché on internal security issues of France accredited in our country and mentioned that numerous discussions on mutually beneficial cooperation were held during his visits to our country. In the context of this cooperation, 57 employees of the internal affairs bodies took part in training and workshops held in Baku over the years. As a continuation of the cooperation, it was noted that the staff of the relevant state bodies of Azerbaijan participated in the practical training entitled “Controlled delivery in counternarcotic actions”, which started on 11 November this year in Baku and is currently held in Tbilisi.
Mr. Eyvazov noted that the draft Agreement on Cooperation between the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Azerbaijan Republic and the Ministry of Interior of France was developed, approved by relevant state authorities and transferred to the Cabinet of Ministers of the Azerbaijan Republic for presentation to the other party, and expressed his confidence that signing of this instrument would laid a sound foundation for further development of relations between our countries.
The Minister drew attention to the fact that Azerbaijan is maintaining a credible level of security and stability and as a result has become one of the countries hosting international events on a regular basis. At the same time, he stressed that the threat of terrorism, extremism, illegal drug trafficking, trafficking in human beings, illegal migration, cybercrime and other transnational crimes, which cause concern not only for our republic but also for many countries of the world, is still real and it is necessary to combine efforts to combat such global threats.

Ambassador Zakari Gross thanked the Minister for hearty welcome and detailed information, expressed his satisfaction with the environment of tolerance and multicultural values in our country and told that he would spare no efforts for the further development of bilateral relations during his tenure of office.
The parties also discussed a number of other matters of mutual interest during the meeting.