The objective of the visit is to attend the International Bertelsmann Forum which is to start today.

During his two-day visit, President Ilham Aliyev will meet with Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel. He is also expected to have talks with Georgian parliament president Nino Burjanadze, who will attend the Forum too.

The International Bertelsmann Forum (IBF), which takes place every two years organized by the Carl Bertelsmann Foundation, is a confidential dialogue between top European representatives from the fields of politics, culture and the media on current and strategic issues of European policy.

The Forum will focus on political and economic prospects of Europe this time, APA reports.

The latest International Bertelsmann Forum in January 2004 brought together heads of state and government from over 30 countries and parliament presidents and ministers from 24 countries.