On January 24-26, 2002, Heydar Aliyev paid an official visit to Russia at the invitation of the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During the visit the Azerbaijani President held 12 meetings with the Russian officials and media, President Vladimir Putin and Heydar Aliyev signed a joint statement and an agreement on a longterm economic cooperation between the two countries for the period until 2010. Other agreements on the main principles and directions of economic cooperation, production cooperation, cooperation and information exchange in the fight against the tax fraud, on the activities of border services between the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan were signed by representatives of the Russian and Azerbaijani delegations.
The visit and its outcomes became an important event in the diplomatic relations of the two countries in the recent ten years.
“90 Instants of the Great leader”, Heydar Aliyev Heritage research center, “Sharq-Qarb”, Baku-2013, p.201