Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova had a meeting on 14 March with Chairman of the Arab Parliament Adel bin Abdul Rahman Al Asoomi who is visiting in Azerbaijan currently.

Telling the guest that she was glad to greet him within the homes of the Azerbaijani legislature, Sahiba Gafarova proceeded to inform Mr Al Asoomi about the special session of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan due on 16 May and dedicated to the centenary of the National Leader of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev. She stressed that the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, founder and architect of the modern independent Azerbaijani State, had always served his nation meritoriously and had made the nation’s independence adamant and irreversible. What else Mrs Gafarova said then was that Azerbaijan is now firmly set on the course adherent to the ideas of Heydar Aliyev and continues progressing under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev.

Going further, Mrs Gafarova underscored the importance of expanding Azerbaijan’s relations with the Arab countries comprehensively, including by furthering co-operation with the Arab League. Our relationship with the Arab states rests on the foundation built by the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev and are now being continued successfully under the guidance of President Ilham Aliyev, she added.

The special interest of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan in going forth with collaboration with the Arab Parliament as the legislative body of the Arab League was accentuated then. Speaker Gafarova also recalled with pleasure her encounters with Mr Al Asoomi in Madrid in 2021 and in Cairo in February this year before mentioning the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding about co-operation between the Arab Parliament and the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement. This document is of tremendous importance for the institutionalisation of the relationship, according to Madam Speaker who proceeded to praise the decision of the Arab Parliament to grant the NAM Parliamentary Network an observer status. That decision was certain to inject more energy in the progressing co-operation between the two organisations, in the opinion of Mrs Gafarova.

Mr AL Asoomi was supplied with detailed information about the large-scale restoration work afoot in the de-occupied Azerbaijani territories. The Speaker of the Milli Majlis reminded the Chairman of the Arab Parliament of Azerbaijan’s peace offer made to Armenia on the basis of the five universally accepted principles of international law. Signing a peace treaty means opening the only path that leads to peace, stability and prosperity in the region, Mrs Gafarova emphasised.

The Chairman of the Arab Parliament Adel bin Abdul Rahman Al Asoomi thanked for the invitation to Baku and the cordiality with which he had been received before commenting on the importance of the forthcoming special session of the Milli Mejlis. The Arab Parliament attaches great importance to its relations with the Milli Majlis whilst the Arab Parliament Member States have already established fruitful relations with Azerbaijan, it was said. Mr Al Asoomi said also that the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement established upon the initiative of our country had done a great amount of work in a short while, which signifies the successfulness of the Azerbaijani parliamentary diplomacy. The Arab Parliament considers it really rather important to maintain its links with the NAM Parliamentary Network, too.

The leader of the Arab Parliament remembered his participation of the NAM PN’s inception session in Madrid as well as its second conference in Bahrain, saying both events had set high organisational standards.

The Azerbaijani capital city of Baku and the integral development of our country have impressed Mr Al Asoomi most favourably whilst the achievements that our country has made confirm the fruitfulness of the work done by the Azerbaijani Government, according to the Chairman of the Arab Parliament.

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

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis