Operativ Media reports that Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, said this in an interview with journalists in Tashkent.

Hajiyev noted that since that period, relations between the two states have progressed from a strategic partnership to an alliance and now carry the character of eternal friendship. This is a first in Azerbaijan's diplomatic practice, and we are taking such a step for the first time with Uzbekistan.

Noting that our peoples are already eternal friends and that historical ties exist between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, the presidential assistant said: "We can see this even in the works of Alisher Navoi and other Uzbek writers, as well as in other literary works and friendly relations that unite our peoples. Stemming from the will of our peoples, our shared history, and cultural roots, a document on eternal friendship relations will be signed by the heads of state during this visit. In other words, the already de facto, historically grounded eternal friendship between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan also carries the character of eternal friendship on the political level."