Visiting Foreign Minister of Portugal Paulo Portas reached broad consensus with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Wednesday on broadening ties between the two countries in various fields.

In their meeting, Portas said Portugal is interested in developing bilateral relations with Azerbaijan in various areas, emphasizing the importance of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Portugal within the UN Security Council. The minister said that in nearest future Portugal will open its embassy in Azerbaijan.

President Aliyev said the visit of Portas will open a new page in the development of bilateral relations between the two countries. The president said he hopes the Portuguese delegation will hold productive meetings in Azerbaijan to pave the way for the development of bilateral ties in various directions.

Aliyev said there is a huge potential for the development of partnership between Azerbaijan and Portugal.

Later on Wednesday the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) and the Agency for Foreign Trade and Investment of Portugal signed an Memorandum of Understanding. The document was signed at the Azerbaijan-Portugal business forum attended by 20 Portuguese and more than 70 Azeri companies, representing ICT, the construction sector, food and chemical industries and other areas.

According to Azeri Deputy Minister for Economic Development Niyazi Safarov, the forum will have a positive impact on the economic development of the two countries in the future.