![\"Azerbaijan](\"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Azerbaijan-leaders-in-London.jpg\")
The leaders of the U.K. and Azerbaijan agreed on the importance of bilateral relations and \u201cof our cooperation on issues of shared interest, including regional security and energy,\u201d a government statement said Thursday.\nThe statement came following a meeting between Prime Minister Theresa May and Azerbaijan\u2019s President Ilham Aliyev in London.
\nMay expressed her pleasure that Aliyev had chosen to visit the U.K. so soon after his inauguration after elections in Azerbaijan earlier this month.
\nThe leaders “agreed on the importance of the U.K.-Azerbaijan relationship and of our cooperation on issues of shared interest including regional security and energy,\u201d the statement said.
\nMay and Aliyev \u201cnoted the commercial opportunities presented by our close ties, underlined by the sixth Production Sharing Agreement between BP and SOCAR which they witnessed being signed following the meeting.\u201d
\nThe two leaders also discussed matters of regional and global security, and \u201cagreed on the need to restore international norms against chemical weapons use\u201d.
\n\u201cThe prime minister thanked President Aliyev for Azerbaijan\u2019s continued contributions to regional security, including through its support to the NATO mission in Afghanistan,\u201d the statement added.
\n\u201cThey spoke about the threat to security posed by foreign fighters returning from Syria and Iraq, and agreed on the importance of continued close cooperation and information sharing between our security services,\u201d it said.
\nDuring the meeting, May and Aliyev also talked about \u201cdemocracy and human rights in Azerbaijan\u201d, and also \u201cagreed that the U.K. and Azerbaijan would continue to work to address concerns both bilaterally and through multilateral organizations in order to support sustainable development and modernization in Azerbaijan.\u201d<\/p>\n