The opening ceremony of the Third Trilateral Meeting of the Speakers of Parliament Azerbaijan-Pakistan-Türkiye was held in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, on 13 October.

Opening the meeting, Chairman of the National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Sardar Ayaz Sadiq greeted the Speakers of Parliament of Azerbaijan and Türkiye.

He remarked that the parliamentary platform represents an essential direction in which to continue deepening the ties between our countries and peoples. Saying that Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Türkiye are friendly and fraternal countries, the Chairman of the National Assembly said that the three brotherly states are always together on fateful matters concerning them. Sardar Ayaz Sadiq offered gratitude for the fraternal support from Azerbaijan and Türkiye on the Cashmere Issue, stressing that the people of Pakistan will never forget this friendly attitude.

Having said that peoples and countries sometimes encountered injustice and dishonesty in the system of international relations, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq underlined the necessity of putting an end to such manifestations for the provision of peace and security world-wide as well as for prosperity of nations.

He voiced contentment with the successful co-operation of the Parliaments of each of the three countries in many areas including in international parliamentary organisations.

Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova expressed gratitude to the Pakistani side in her speech for the organisation of the event to high standards and for the hospitality extended.

Saying that the co-operation of our parliaments is based on the brotherhood, unity and solidarity of our countries and peoples that are bound with their common history, culture, religious and moral values, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis emphasised that Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Türkiye have always been side by side and have always supported each other. Our people would never forget the political and moral support our country had received from Türkiye and Pakistan from the very first days of the 44-day Patriotic War. It was then said that Azerbaijan, too, has always demonstrated her support to Türkiye and Pakistan in all matters. Azerbaijan openly expressed its solidarity with Pakistan from the very first day at the time of the escalation of tensions between Pakistan and India in May this year. Our country has always supported the resolution of the Kashmir Issue through dialogue and peace, based on the norms and principles of international law and the resolutions of the UN Security Council, and has voiced this position on all international platforms.
          Remarking also on the non-equivocal nature of Azerbaijan’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis said that Azerbaijan advocated the conflict’s settlement in accordance with the pertaining resolutions and decisions of the UN and on the basis of the two-states principle.
          Having mentioned that more than 4 years has passed since the First Trilateral Meeting of the Speakers of Parliament Azerbaijan-Pakistan-Türkiye, which took place on the initiative of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan and that that trilateral mechanism of co-operation amongst our Parliaments was incepted in Baku in 2021, Sahiba Gafarova pointed out that that Meeting was remarkable not only for the adoption of the Baku Declaration which affirmed this new mechanism but also for the visit to the cultural capital of Azerbaijan – the de-occupied town of Shusha.
           She said that the Second Trilateral Meeting in Istanbul in 2022, chaired by the Great National Assembly of Türkiye, too, is remembered by substantial discussions and the adoption of the Istanbul Declaration, and now, the Third Trilateral Meeting is taking place in the city of Islamabad, and this platform is already established as a successful and sustainable co-operation arena for our Parliaments, contributing importantly to the continued expansion of our bilateral and multilateral ties.
          According to her, the constant contacts between our legislative bodies within such international parliamentary organisations as the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly as well as our joint activity and mutual support on issues of mutual interest are also a source of contentment. The Speaker remarked that the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network, established on the initiative of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and currently chaired by the Milli Majlis, is another important platform. Sahiba Gafarova expressed gratitude for the active support of the Organisation's work to the National Assembly and Senate of Pakistan as members of the Network and to the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye as a special guest.
          The Speaker noted that the powerful unity and solidarity demonstrated by our countries on the international stage today are not only an expression of their brotherhood and common interests. It is also an approach based on the supremacy of international law and the principles of law and justice. According to her, this is, in essence, also a call to the international community. It is precisely this approach that calls upon the international community to strengthen joint activity based on mutual respect for a brighter future built on peace, security, and progress.
          In her address, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova pointed out that peace, security and progress Peace, security and progress are the directly interrelated factors. And Azerbaijan is proving that once more in the current period when we are marking the 5th anniversary of the 44-day Patriotic War.
          She recalled that approximately twenty per cent of the internationally recognised territories of our country had been under Armenian occupation for thirty years. Hundreds of our towns and villages, our historical, religious and cultural heritage were destroyed during those thirty years; a million Azerbaijanis became refugees from their own native lands. Whereas the mediators acting as the OSCE Minsk Group proved incapable of enforcing the norms and principles of international law.
          Stressing that Azerbaijan restored her territorial integrity in 2020 and her sovereignty, too, in 2023, thus having laid a foundation for the path leading to peace, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis added that it was the victorious Azerbaijan which put the peace initiative forth and proposed the main peace principles as well as a draft peace treaty immediately after the war.
          Sahiba Gafarova remembered that the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and Armenia initialled the peace treaty text pursuant to the bilateral talks held with the participation of the leaders of USA, Azerbaijan and Armenia in Washington, DC in August this year. It was remarked that the President of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia had signed a Joint Declaration through the mediation by the US President Donald Trump. The significance of opening regional communication was affirmed, too.
          According to Speaker Sahiba Gafarova, the opening of the Zangazur Corridor, which initiative rests with President Ilham Aliyev, is one of the main outcomes of the meeting in Washington. Thus, the Zangazur Corridor will become an important transport link of Eurasia with the implementation of the ‘Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity’ and will serve co-operation and progress in our region. The Speaker of the Milli Majlis stressed especially that all those are firstly the outcomes of President Ilham Aliyev’s intense activity in the name of peace diplomacy, security, co-operation and progress.
          The Speaker went further to say that new opportunities to continue expanding the co-operation amongst our fraternal countries emerge to the backdrop of the said processes. In the past period, we have witnessed the consistent development of the trilateral co-operation mechanism Azerbaijan-Pakistan-Türkiye on the level of Parliaments, and Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence.
          According to Sahiba Gafarova, the trilateral meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Türkiye, and the Prime Minister of Pakistan in Astana in July 2024 but also, especially, the Trilateral Summit in the de-occupied Azerbaijani town of Lachin in May this year enriched that mechanism further and elevated it to a new stage qualitatively. In essence, those meetings demonstrated the will to the continued strengthening of the unity and solidarity of our brotherly countries as well as to the advancement of the trilateral co-operation in the political, trade and economic, transport, energy, defence, humanitarian and other areas, Sahiba Gafarova remarked that, in keeping with that will, today’s Trilateral Meeting held at the level of the Speakers of Parliament, too, is an expression of our resolve to strengthen parliamentary support for the co-operation of our fraternal countries. She expressed a confidence that the parliamentarians would achieve that goal through combined efforts.
          Chairman of the Great National Assembly of Türkiye Numan Kurtulmuş who spoke next greeted the event participants and shared thoughts about its importance.
          He noted that the co-operation amongst the three brotherly countries is of immense importance in the current conditions when there are demonstrable problems – especially, double standards – in international law. Numan Kurtulmuş mentioned the large significance attached by Türkiye to strengthening the trilateral co-operation with the Parliaments of Azerbaijan and Pakistan. It was added that the role of the Parliaments is tremendous in generating common solutions for global problems.
          Touching in his speech on the importance of countering terrorism threats, Numan Kurtulmuş said that Türkiye put great importance on anti-terrorism targeting states’ sovereignty and independence.
          Further in his speech, he congratulated our country and our people on the achievements secured in the context of the peace agenda between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
          Chairman of the Senate of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Sayed Yusuf Raza Gilani, in turn, spoke to underline the importance of the Parliaments’ third meeting and pointed up the significance of co-operation amongst the brotherly countries in the modern geopolitical conditions as well as the paramount importance of strengthening the inter-parliamentary connexions.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis