Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova had a meeting with Chair of the Mejlis of the Milli Geňeş of Turkmenistan Gülşat Mämmedowa in the course of her official visit to Turkmenistan. Mrs Mämmedowa greeted the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation cordially before touching upon the ambitious standards set by the friendly and fraternal ties between our ties.

Gülşat Mämmedowa recalled fondly her trip to Azerbaijan to attend the first conference of the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Baku in June this year – as well as her conversation with Sahiba Gafarova that took place during that visit. The visit itself and the Baku Conference had left indelible impressions on her, according to Mrs Mämmedowa who went on to say that her country thought particularly important the representation in the Network as well as the Network’s operation as a forum to make for more efficient employment of the opportunities afforded by parliamentary diplomacy.

Our interaction advances and is fruitful in inter-parliamentary connexions as well as it is in the other areas covered; this is equally true of the interaction under the aegis of international parliamentary organisations, in the opinion of Mrs Mämmedowa. The arrival of the Chair of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan in Turkmenistan is bound to bring about a further broadening of the current inter-parliamentary relations between our countries, she added.

Speaker Sahiba Gafarova voiced appreciation of the generous hospitality extended to the delegation of the Azerbaijani legislature she is leading. She said then that that was her first visit to Turkmenistan as Chair of the Milli Majlis, remarking that she hoped the current visit was going to generate an added momentum behind the bilateral inter-parliamentary relations.

On goes the progress of the friendship and brotherhood of our countries the peoples of which are bound with the common history, language, religion and culture. This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the two-way diplomatic relations, and it must be said that our countries have covered a long path in the now-bygone years, according to Mrs Gafarova. Both Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are independent and advanced states which have come to occupy their rightful positions in the scheme of international relations. The role of the states’ leaders in the achievement of the present-day elevated level of interaction between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan was emphasised then as well. Both countries support each other in international organisations unfailingly whilst their parliaments constitute a factor apart within their connexions in general. Also, Mrs Gafarova drew attention to the work of the friendship groups in both legislatures and stressed the need to broaden those connexions, too. In addition, our co-operation could benefit from interaction amongst both sides’ parliamentary committees.

Sahiba Gafarova, too, recalled with pleasure her conversation with Gülşat Mämmedowa on the margins of the June 2022 Baku Conference of the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement, saying that the Network’s second conference was to take place on the sidelines of the 146^th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Manama in March next year. Right now, then, the PN is working towards a number of goals including gaining a broader international recognition for itself and, second, expanding its links to the other parliamentary entities. Mrs Gafarova proceeded to supply Mrs Mämmedowa with ample information about the current organisational work.

The meeting went on. Sahiba Gafarova told Mrs Mämmedowa about the on-going regional processes, the post-war initiatives of Azerbaijan meant to ensure permanent peace and security, the large-scale restoration of the de-occupied Azerbaijani lands and, on another note, the political and military provocations of Armenia perpetrated to harm and hinder the peace process.

 The Press and Public Relations Department

                                The Milli Majlis