President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Azernews reports.

The head of state greeted Justin Welby and touched upon the importance of his visit.

Head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby extended his congratulations to President Ilham Aliyev on the centenary anniversary of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev’s birthday. He highlighted the role of Azerbaijan in the multiculturalism and interfaith dialogue, touched upon Vatican-Azerbaijan relations and hailed Azerbaijan’s contribution to restoration of the catacombs in Vatican.

Touching upon hardships Azerbaijan faced during the first years of independence the head of state said that 20 percent of the Azerbaijani lands were occupied at that time, over a million Azerbaijanis became refugees and IDPs, socio-political crisis prevailed and the country experienced economic slump and internal instability.

President Ilham Aliyev once again underlined that Azerbaijan had come forward with a peace treaty initiative, said that historical opportunities had emerged for forging ahead with the peace agenda in the region, and touched upon the efforts the country makes in this direction.

The President of Azerbaijan underlined that the central authorities had provided large-scale humanitarian assistance to the Armenian residents of the Garabagh region after the anti-terror measures had been ceased, saying the services related to migration, social protection and healthcare are being offered to the population on the ground.

The head of state pointed out that the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan had made a statement to the general public as well as the Armenians with respect to the rights and security of the Armenian residents of Garabagh.

President Ilham Aliyev expressed hope that the upcoming meeting in Granada would give an impetus to development of the peace agenda in the region.

Justin Welby underlined the importance of trust building and ethnic reconciliation in the post-conflict period, saying he is ready to share his experience on this matter.

The role of ethnic reconciliation and civil society organizations was noted during the conversation.