Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received Romanian Energy Minister Sebastian Ioan Burduja in Baku on Monday to discuss steps to broaden energy cooperation, the Azerbaijani presidential office said in a statement on its website.

The parties acknowledged at the meeting that Baku and Bucharest have established a strategic partnership and are expanding cooperation in all areas, it said.

The Azerbaijani president highlighted the importance of mutual visits at the level of the head of state and at other levels from the standpoint of broadening ties between Baku and Bucharest.

"Touching upon the importance of the 8th meeting of the Joint Commission on Economic-Trade Relations and Scientific-Technical Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of Romania in Baku in terms of defining the prospects for bilateral bonds, President Ilham Aliyev hailed the inclusion of energy and other relevant issues in the meeting's agenda," it said.

Aliyev and Burduja agreed that the parties have made considerable progress in their energy cooperation, and exchanged opinions on exports of natural gas to Romania from Azerbaijan and shipments of green energy via the Black Sea.

Baku and Bucharest are continuing to discuss possible shipments of liquefied natural gas, green energy, and gas to Romania, and Azerbaijan is seeking to enter Romania's energy market in a diversified form, it said.

Aliyev and Burduja agreed that the two countries are developing economic and trade relations; trade between them grew by nearly 30% to $670 million in 2023, and they also strengthened investment cooperation, it said.

"They touched upon SOCAR's active presence in Romania and its substantial role in the country's fuel market," it said.

"The conversation also underlined the expansion of cooperation in the agriculture, healthcare, and education sectors," it said.