Members of the Azerbaijani parliamentary Culture Committee had a meeting with the head of the Georgian Parliament’s Culture Committee Elisso Bolkvadze at the Milli Majlis on 12 October.

The Azerbaijani committee’s chair Ganira Pashayeva began the conversation with a commentary about the friendship, brotherhood and good neighbourhood established between Azerbaijan and Georgia over the course of history. She mentioned the unfailing support by the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev and the continuer of his cause President Ilham Aliyev to the bilateral relations and said that both attached great importance to those.

Mrs Pashayeva also talked about the Armenian vandalism wreaked over our historical, cultural and cult artefacts in the now-liberated Azerbaijani lands during the occupation period. She stressed that it was necessary to unite forces to confront such vandalism. There is a huge potential to ensure a continued intensification of the interaction amongst our countries, in the opinion of Mrs Pashayeva who proceeded to share her thoughts about undertaking joint projects to that end and pressing for mutual popularisation of our cultures and better acquaintance with them.

The leader of the Georgian committee Elisso Bolkvadze said, in turn, that she was glad to be in Azerbaijan. She dwelled on our cultural relations, saying also that her committee was keen on attaining their greater growth and considered it important to co-operate with Azerbaijan. Mrs Bolkvadze also brought up the contribution that culture can make to the peace cause in our complicated times, the relevant role of the UNESCO and the exemplary endeavours of Azerbaijan’s First Vice President/UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mehriban Aliyeva.

Mutual popularisation of the two cultures, teaching the Azerbaijani and Georgian languages at school and pushing the inter-parliamentary connexions forth were then talked of by the head of the Azerbaijan-Georgia inter-parliamentary connexions working group Arzu Naghiyev, the MPs Razi Nurullayev and Ulviya Hamzayeva and the Georgian ambassador in Baku Zurab Pataradze.

Other matters of shared concern were talked over during the meeting as well.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis