 President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Secretary-General of the Council of Europe Maria Pijsinovic Birik. Maria Pijsinovic Birik noted that Azerbaijan has been a valued member of the Council of Europe since 2001. She recalled that Azerbaijan inked and ratified numerous conventions of the Council of Europe, including the recently signed Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs, describing all these as positive steps. The Secretary-General of the Council of Europe commended the reforms implemented in Azerbaijan under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev. Praising Azerbaijan's steps towards ensuring a durable peace in the region, Maria Pijsinovic Birik applauded a joint statement adopted between the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and the issues arising from it, particularly the steps related to confidence-building measures between the two countries. She expressed the Council of Europe's readiness to contribute to confidence-building measures between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The head of state underlined that Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe have shaped a very close cooperation over these years. President Ilham Aliyev hailed his relations with the Council of Europe and the Azerbaijani Delegations Activity at the pace. President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the joint statement agreed between the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia is a demonstration of mutual political will for advancing a peace agenda and normalizing relations between the two countries. The head of state emphasized that the Council of Europe is also a very good platform for fostering confidence-building processes between the two nations. During the conversation, they placed emphasis on the need for constructive dialogue and relations between the parliamentary delegations of Azerbaijan and Armenia at pace. Furthermore, they noted that the practical cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe has seen a great progress. They discussed cooperation in the process of intercultural dialogue between Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe, emphasizing the crucial importance of sustaining this cooperation. The appreciation of Council of Europe's participation as a partner in traditional intercultural dialogue forum held in Azerbaijan as well as the appointment of a dedicated representative within the Council of Europe to counteract trends of Islamophobia was noted at the meeting.