Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova met with the inbound delegation led by Vice President of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia Khuon Sudary on 9 March.

Following the cordial greeting to her visitors, the leader of the Milli Majlis said she was certain: their visit was going to contribute to the relations between our countries and legislatures growing stronger and broader. Sahiba Gafarova said she was aware that the Cambodian National Assembly’s delegation had arrived to take part in the 10^th Global Baku Forum. Arranged by the Nizami Ganjavi International Centre, this forum has become an important international event which provides opportunities for distinguished leaders and thinkers to discuss ways and means to overcome some of the world’s most pressing challenges, according to Mrs Gafarova.

The Azerbaijani-Cambodian diplomatic relations are turning thirty years in 2024, in which relation the Speaker of the Milli Majlis said there were fine options to push the bilateral relations forth in diverse areas.

It was said in connexion with the two-way inter-legislature collaboration that the friendship groups active in both assemblies played their respective crucial roles in promoting it. Mrs Gafarova also stressed the paramount nature of interaction in inter-parliamentary entities in general and in the Non-Aligned Movement and its Parliamentary Network and in the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly especially.

Going further, Speaker Gafarova remembered with pleasure her official visit to Cambodia in November last year. She said her thanks for the hospitality extended to her and her delegation then as well as for the Cambodian backing having factored in Azerbaijan’s election as an observer in the ASEAN PA. Besides, that visit had seen a number of key meetings that had proved that our legislatures had had a fruitful relationship afoot already.

President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan came up with the initiative – acting as the Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement – to establish the NAM’s Parliamentary Network so as to foster that particular aspect of this organisation, Sahiba Gafarova continued. She also talked about the Network’s inaugural session, its first conference in Baku and the second one, due to happen in Manama in a few days. The work done currently to ensure the Network’s institutional growth and the future tasks were talked about as well. Mrs Gafarova pointed out that the PN was a serious platform for a number of dramatic topics to be discussed upon.

Mrs Sudary was then told about Azerbaijan’s progress, the new regional reality established following our victory in the 2020 Patriotic War and Armenia’s less than helpful attitude to the peace talks.

The Vice President of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia Khuon Sudary thanked Mrs Gafarova for the kind reception and the invitation to the 10^th Global Baku Forum.

Mrs Sudary recalled with content last year’s official visit of Mrs Gafarova to Cambodia and, turning to the bilateral inter-governmental and inter-legislature connexions, underscored the significance of the memorandum of understanding inked between our parliaments in the course of that visit.

Next, Khuon Sudary was commenting on the prospects of interaction between the Cambodian and Azerbaijani legislative bodies in international organisations, including and principally in the NAM Parliamentary Network and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly. In addition, she highlighted the role of the friendship groups, the Cambodian and Azerbaijani ones, in pushing our co-operation up and further.

Mrs Sudary also told Mrs Gafarova of the structure of the Cambodian Parliament, the current socio-economic situation in her country and the national electoral system.

After that the two parliament leaders talked over various other matters of shared interest.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis