The 12^th meeting of the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TürkPA) followed a commemorative photo being taken of the Assembly Member States’ Heads of Parliament in Ankara on 28 April.

The Speakers answered the questions of the mass media people covering the gathering then.

Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova took the floor at the meeting.

She greeted its participants. She also thanked Chairman of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye Mustafa Şentop for hospitality and the organisational excellence in convening the meeting, and Speaker of the Zhogorku Kengesh of the Kyrgyz Republic Nurlanbek Shakiev for the successful presidency over the Assembly. Sahiba Gafarova wished the Turkish side success in the forthcoming TürkPA presidency as well.

The leader of the Milli Majlis expressed her condolences to Türkiye over the heavy loss of life due to the earthquake in that country in February this year.

The agendas of both the meeting of the TürkPA Council and the TürkPA plenum are rich enough, which circumstance is a vivid indication of the real level of interaction and co-operation within the Assembly, in the opinion of Mrs Gafarova.   

TürkPA is fifteen years old this year; it has become a platform of effective dialogue and co-operation between our parliaments, and with our joint efforts has established itself as an important organisation enjoying international recognition since the signing of the Istanbul Treaty in September 2008 and the first plenum of the new Assembly held in Baku in September 2009. Mrs Gafarova stressed that the TürkPA promotes further strengthening of unity and solidarity of our brotherly nations and countries sharing national and cultural values.

The Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan attaches tremendous importance to its activities within the TürkPA framework and takes every necessary step to promote this work. Azerbaijan’s parliamentary delegation have taken an active part in the meetings of TürkPA commissions and various events whilst also having contributed to the drafting of model laws and election observation missions. At the same time, the Milli Mejlis hosted the 8^th meeting of the TürkPA Commission on Environment, Natural Resources and Health at the beginning of March.

Mrs Gafarova praised the work done by the Secretariat of the TürkPA towards the end of her speech. She remarked that that work clearly indicated the transformation of the Secretariat into a flexible and functional mechanism meeting the existing requirements of co-operation between our parliaments and ensures dynamic development of their relations. The Azerbaijani Parliament will continue supporting the activities of the Secretariat, Madam Speaker added.

Then, Chairman of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye Mustafa Şentop, Acting Head of the TürkPA/Speaker of the Zhogorku Kengesh of the Kyrgyz Republic Nurlanbek Shakiev and Head of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerlan Qoşanov voiced their confidence that exchanges of opinions and the decisions to be made by the TürkPA Council and Plenum alike will contribute importantly to the continued strengthening of the PA’s work.

The Speakers emphasised the forthcoming jubilee events in the brotherly countries this year and offered their congratulations on the centenary of the Azerbaijanis’ National Leader Heydar Aliyev.

Several organisational matters were discussed at the Council meeting afterwards; appropriate decisions were taken as well. 

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis