AZE.US
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene on April 9, with the two sides discussing bilateral ties, regional peace efforts, post-conflict reconstruction, and cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union.
According to Azerbaijani officials, Aliyev said he hoped Ruginiene’s visit to Azerbaijan would be productive and would contribute to the further development of bilateral relations.
Ruginiene thanked Aliyev for the meeting and said Azerbaijan and Lithuania had maintained good relations for many years.
The talks focused on prospects for expanding economic and trade ties, with discussions covering cooperation in energy, investment, education, agriculture, and other sectors. Both sides also stressed the importance of reciprocal visits by delegations to deepen relations.
Ruginiene congratulated Aliyev on what Azerbaijani officials described as progress toward peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia. She also pointed to the large-scale reconstruction underway in territories retaken by Azerbaijan and noted the efforts being made to facilitate the return of former internally displaced persons.
Aliyev said Azerbaijan had been the side pushing for peace in the region and for the establishment of trade relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
He said nearly 30,000 former internally displaced persons had already returned to their native areas. Aliyev added that Azerbaijan was building cities and villages in the formerly occupied territories and implementing transport and other social infrastructure projects there.
At the same time, he said landmines remained a serious problem in those areas and continued to slow reconstruction and resettlement efforts. According to Aliyev, more than 400 people have been killed or injured in landmine explosions in the territories since the end of the war.
The two sides also discussed cooperation within international organizations. During the meeting, it was noted that Lithuania has consistently supported the development of Azerbaijan’s relations with the European Union.
Later, in a post on X, Ruginiene said Lithuania supports closer EU-Azerbaijan ties aimed at strengthening security, stability, and economic prosperity.
Thank you @presidentaz Ilham Aliyev for the warm welcome to Baku.
It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to further develop relations between Lithuania and Azerbaijan.
Lithuania supports closer EU-Azerbaijan ties to strengthen security, stability, and economic prosperity for… pic.twitter.com/SHI4fwoXPX
— Inga Ruginienė (@IRuginiene) April 9, 2026
She described energy cooperation as one of the key priorities and said cooperation between the two countries had become even more important amid growing instability and Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
The Lithuanian prime minister also said her country strongly supports efforts to achieve lasting peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, welcomes the progress made so far, and backs continued stability in the region.