Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova met on 17 May with Chair of the National Assembly of the Republic of South Africa Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, visiting in Azerbaijan for the special Great Leader Heydar Aliyev Centenary sitting of the Azerbaijani Parliament.

Mrs Gafarova thanked Mrs Mapisa-Nqakula for her attendance of the jubilee sitting of the Milli Majlis and the heartfelt speech she had delivered at it. Mrs Mapisa-Nqakula, in turn, voiced her gratitude for the invitation and the wonderful organisation of this event.

Then the conversation turned to Great Leader Heydar Aliyev's tremendous and glorious life journey, his unprecedented endeavours and great merits in the history of the modern Azerbaijani state and its people. The ideas and recommendations of Heydar Aliyev are being implemented by President Ilham Aliyev successfully. A thorough work is underway to strengthen Azerbaijan's independence, consolidate her territorial integrity, increase the economic power and boost the country's international prestige.

They also spoke about the expansion of inter-parliamentary co-operation between our countries; the importance of reciprocal visits and meetings of inter-parliamentary friendship groups in terms of exchange of information and experience was noted duly as well.

Sahiba Gafarova recalled with pleasure her earlier encounters with Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, saying that such meetings and the dialogue helped push forth the deepening our inter-parliamentary connexions.

Azerbaijan and the RSA have lively interaction apace in international organisations including the Non-Aligned Movement, according to Mrs Gafarova who stressed the important initiatives put forth by Azerbaijan, currently heading the NAM. She also told of the contribution of the NAM Parliamentary Network masterminded by Azerbaijan to the on-going strengthening of the ties between the Member States.

The conversation continued; the two parliamentary speakers commented on several other topics of shared interest.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis