Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova met on 17 February with the visiting delegation that was led by Mujtaba Zunnur, Chairman of the Commission of National Security and External Policy of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Madame Chair welcomed the guests warmly before she described Azerbaijan and Iran as two friendly and brotherly countries the relations between which are progressing thanks to the mutual understanding based on the common history, culture and religion.

‘I trust that our relations resting on such a solid foundation will become broader yet in the future. The expansion of the comprehensive co-operation with Iran serves the interests of both our nations,’ Mrs Gafarova remarked.

The Great Leader Heydar Aliyev had made an outstanding input in the mutual relations having reached today’s extent; nowadays, President Ilham Aliyev is on the same course firmly and with success. The two-way visits of the leaders of our states, the conversations they have held and the joint documents signed to date have played a substantial part in the achievement of the present-day excellence in the Azerbaijani-Iranian relations, Mrs Gafarova said. The determined nature of the political dialogue bears well on the economic, humanitarian and cultural ties while the work that the Interstate Joint Commission are doing as well as the business forums and bilateral meetings held until now provided for an increase in the volume of trade between Azerbaijan and Iran.

As regards the supreme legislatures of the two countries, the good relationship between them manifests itself in both bilateral and multilateral collaboration, Madame Chair remarked before praising the work of the friendship groups in both parliaments. It is important for the achievement of the shared goals to inject further energy in the liaison between those groups as well as to continue taking part in multilateral meetings under the auspices of international organisations.

Madame Speaker then witnessed her appreciation of the Iranian support to the just cause of Azerbaijan during the 44-day Patriotic War; she thanked the Iranian State and People on her behalf and on behalf of the Azerbaijani Parliament for their staunch backing of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. She said then that the atrocities of the Armenian occupiers in the now-liberated Azerbaijani regions and the destruction by them of the religious monuments in those areas were the acts of inhuman vandalism and moral terror directed against not only Azerbaijan alone but also the whole Muslim World.

To give another proof and example of the Armenian vandalism, Mrs Gafarova mentioned the Khojali Genocide the 29th anniversary of which is going to be marked in a matter of days. She emphasised that the destruction of those unarmed civilians was a crime unparalleled in its nefariousness. The parliaments of several countries passed the correct verdicts on the outrage committed in the town of Khojali; it was classified as a genocidal act.

Thanking for the kind welcome, Mr Zunnur voiced his satisfaction with the meetings held during the current visit before saying that the country he represented was interested in advancing its bonds with Azerbaijan in every area.

‘The hearts of the citizens of Iran beat in unison with the heart of Azerbaijan as it fought the Patriotic War in Highland Garabagh. We have always stood for the territorial integrity and righteous cause of Azerbaijan, with the statements we made at the very different levels during the 44-day-long hostilities only serving to prove our standpoint,’ Mr Zunnur commented.

The guest relayed the Iranian side’s desire of the closest involvement in the de-mining of the lands delivered from occupation as well as in the restoration work ahead and recreation of the damaged cult monuments. He emphasised also that Iran intended to contribute to the revival of Garabagh.

The members of the Iranian parliamentary delegation said they could feel in their hearts the pain inflicted by the Khojali atrocity and condemned this outrage to which the people of Azerbaijan had been subjected.

Further, there was an exchange of opinions about the progress prospects of the interparliamentary relations, a continued intensification of the economic, cultural and humanitarian co-operation and other matters of concern to both sides.

The members of the Working Group for the Interparliamentary Contacts with Iran Eldar Ibrahimov and Mader Musayev, Chief of the Milli Majlis Staff Safa Mirzayev, the Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Seyid Abbas Mousavi and other officials took part in the meeting as well.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis