British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey paid official visit to Azerbaijan on March 30. During his visit, Heappey met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov and Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.

James Heappey and Ilham Aliyev exchanged views on the prospects of cooperation between the United Kingdom in oil, gas, investment in the Azerbaijani economy, trade, transport and defence.

During the meeting between British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, the sides exchanged views on political, economic, trade issues, as well as prospects for cooperation in alternative energy sources and other fields, the Foreign Ministry stated. It was noted that Azerbaijan has made a significant contribution to Europe's energy security.

British Ambassador to Azerbaijan James Sharp shared a photo of Armed Forces Minister James Heappey 's meeting with Ilham Aliyev on Twitter and thanked Azerbaijan for its humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. The ambassador also said as a message to Russia that Heappey visited the Alley of Martyrs:

"Minister of the Armed Forces James Heappey visited the Alley of Martyrs today and paid tribute to those who died as a result of the Kremlin's instructions. Those martyrs sacrificed their lives for the independence of Azerbaijan," the ambassador said.

A day before (on 29 March) the visit of the British Minister of Armed Forces to Azerbaijan, a meeting was held in London with Minister of State of the United Kingdom for Europe and North America, James Cleverly and Azerbaijani Ambassador to UK Elin Suleymanov. According to Cheverly’s Twitter account, the meeting focused on strengthening bilateral relations with Ukraine, including the diplomatic settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.