Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova took part in the 60^th Plenary Sitting of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly on 22 May in the course of her working visit to the city of St Petersburg of the Russian Federation.

In her address at the sitting, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis underlined the Assembly’s massive role in furthering the dialogue and co-operation amongst our legislative bodies as well as featuring as a discussion platform for a broad range of issues of joint concern. Speaker Sahiba Gafarova talked about the pertaining significance of the Assembly, both in view of it holding events, meetings and seminars regularly and in terms of implementation of new and successful ideas and initiatives.

As she was telling the assembly of the 13^th Session of the UN World Urban Forum in Baku, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis let it be known that the WUF13 taking place in Baku on 17-22 May is one of the most influential international events of a global reach dedicated to the issues of sustainable urban development and urbanisation. It was remarked that the 13^th Session being held in Baku is the largest in scale of all that the UN Human Settlements Programme has so far arranged: the registered record attendance exceeded 45,000 delegates from as many as 182 countries.

Speaker Sahiba Gafarova let the gathering know that Baku hosting that Session confirms recognition of Azerbaijan’s ability to rally communities and countries to a common cause. As President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev emphasised at the forum’s opening, ‘Azerbaijan is situated between Europe and Asia, and has always been the place where East meets West.’

According to the Speaker of the Milli Majlis, a separate event of the Parliamentary Assembly titled ‘Sustainable Development of Mountain Settlements’ was arranged in the format of the 13^th Session. It was remarked that that initiative of the Assembly had expedited a focus on the development of highland territories, which is of special significance to many Commonwealth Nations, as well as it had made it possible to hold a substantive and hands-on exchange of experience. It was said also that our countries’ parliamentarians’ energetic participation in those discussions is gratifying.

According to Speaker Sahiba Gafarova, the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly is a platform which not only promotes the growth of our Parliaments’ multilateral co-operation but also helps the development of their co-operation on the bilateral basis. She recalled her having taken part, together with the other colleagues from the IPA CIS, in the 2^nd Asian Women’s Forum held in Bukhara of the Republic of Uzbekistan several days ago.

The Speaker went further to mention the next – the 24^th – meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Commission for Co-operation between the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, due in June. At the same time, she high-lit the importance of the IPA CIS initiatives aiming to strengthen humanitarian co-operation.

Broaching in her address also the election monitoring activities of the IPA CIS, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis brought to the fore the role of the IPA CIS International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations in the institutional support of this activity of the Assembly.

Going further, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova touched the international conference ‘Heydar Aliyev – Founder of Constitutionalism and Parliamentarism in Sovereign Azerbaijan’, co-organised by the Milli Majlis and the Baku Branch of the International Institute and held in Baku on 8 December 2025. Honouring the 30^th anniversary of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the 107^th anniversary of the Azerbaijani Parliament, the conference had brought together Commonwealth Nations’ parliamentarians, the leadership of the IPA CIS Council’s Secretariat, representatives of the diplomatic corps, tertiary educational institutions and experts.

A round table in honour of the 20^th anniversary of the IPA CIS International Institute of for Monitoring Democracy Development, titled ‘The Role of Parliamentarians in International Monitoring’, was held at the offices of the Baku Branch a while ago, at the beginning of May.

Concluding her address, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis remarked that the IPA CIS continues its confident act as a platform for regular interaction of Parliaments. The Speaker said of her conviction that the joint efforts will be continued henceforth as regards the continued expansion and strengthening of co-operation in diverse fields under the aegis of the Assembly.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis