The President was met at the Andrews Air Force Base by Chief of Protocol Donald Ensenat, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the United States Hafiz Pahsayev and Azerbaijan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Yashar Aliyev.

From the airport, presidential motorcade headed for the hotel Four Seasons in Washington D.C., AzerTAg reports.

According to Itar-Tass, the Azerbaijani leader will meet on Wednesday the leaders of Congress. He will also speak in one of the U.S.' most authoritative foreign policy organizations, the Council on Foreign Relations.

On Thursday, Aliyev will hold talks with several representatives of the US administration, including First Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zellick, who is temporarily replacing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her foreign tour.

An American-Azerbaijani summit will cap the visit on Friday.

Announcing Aliyev's upcoming meeting with US President George Bush, White House press secretary Scott McClellan called Azerbaijan a "key ally" of the United States in a strategically important region of the world and a "valued partner" giving help in Iraq matters.