Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova talked to President of the National Council of the Austrian Parliament Wolfgang Sobotka on 20 June as part of her current official visit to Vienna.

First, there was a one-on-one discussion that revolved around the development of the inter-state and inter-parliamentary relations, followed by an extended meeting with our delegation and representatives of the Austrian side in attendance.

Mr Sobotka remarked that the present arrival of the leader of the Milli Majlis to Austria was a serious indicator of the shared intention to take further our inter-legislature connexions the importance of which cannot be overestimated. He also expressed satisfaction with the existing level of the relations between our countries, the co-operation between which he said had a great potential. In particular, we could strengthen our economic ties, he remarked. Azerbaijan is Europe’s considerable economic partner and a dependable supplier of energy resources to the Continent, Mr Sobotka added.

The head of the Nationalrat also thanked Azerbaijan for backing his country as a candidate non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

As he then spoke of the significance of meetings and reciprocal visits for the progress of the inter-legislature connexions, Mr Sobotka recalled fondly his conversation with Mrs Gafarova in Athens before bringing up the trips of deputy presidents of the Nationalrat to Baku. Official visits of the high status will be continued, of course, Mr Sobotka said assuredly.

Sahiba Gafarova, having thanked for the invitation to Austria and the kind generosity extended by the hosts, stressed that that was the first ever official visit of Speaker of the Milli Majlis to that country. Of course, she continued, the current trip will spur the intensification and broadening of the bilateral inter-state and inter-parliamentary co-operation.

Azerbaijan and Austria are friendly states and partners whose diplomatic relations turned thirty years in 2022; those three decades past had seen our relations evolve, in a dramatic way thanks to the exceptional input from high-status visits to and fro and meetings held at the same level.

The leader of the Milli Majlis highlighted the visits of President Ilham Aliyev to Austria and President of the Republic of Austria Heinz Fischer to our country.

In the context of the Azerbaijani-Austrian documents inked so far was mentioned the May 2013 joint Declaration of Friendship and Partnership as pivotal in the expansion of our relations.

The advancement of our economic and trade relations and the work of the Joint Commission on Economic, Agricultural, Industrial and Technological Co-operation of relevant gravity were talked about then. Mrs Gafarova also spoke about the investment climate in Azerbaijan and Austrian companies’ fruitful operations in Azerbaijan – including, remarkably, the fact that a number of projects of substance have been entrusted to them.

Madam Speaker voiced her confidence in further expansion of Austrian companies’ involvement in projects in Azerbaijan, especially in renewable energy, agriculture and industry initiatives in the liberated territories. This, in turn, will further strengthen the bilateral relations.

It was also stated that it was necessary to broaden our economic, humanitarian, academic, cultural and educational interaction further.

It is to be hoped that a continued interaction and mutual support under the roofs of international organisations will bear well on our relations whereas inter-legislature collaboration is a considerable driver of these relations – not only between the countries but also between the nations. Delegations of the two parliaments have been exchanging visits and have also been meeting on the margins of international events. Both Azerbaijani and Austrian MPs join forces in such inter-parliamentary organisations as the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the OSCE PA and the PACE. Incidentally, it matters equally as much to continue deepening interaction between our friendship groups and to put on more two-way visits.

As the meeting continued, Madam Speaker told Mr President of the situation in both Azerbaijan and the region and the current robust growth of our country, which wrested her lands from Armenian captivity and made her national territory whole again in 2020.

Now the liberated lands are being rebuilt; Azerbaijan is restoring all the infrastructure, towns and villages that were destroyed during the occupation. And the former IDP have begun to move back to their native parts.

Still, the freed lands’ reclamation stands before a huge hurdle presented by more than a million mines that Armenia planted both during the occupation years and after the Trilateral statement was signed. Over 300 Azerbaijani citizens have fallen prey to mine blasts since the autumn of 2020. Alas, Azerbaijan does not seem to observe the much-needed international help with de-mining her de-occupied territories.

Mrs Gafarova went further to emphasise Azerbaijan’s will to peace and to mention the Azerbaijani initiative of signing a peace treaty with Armenia as well as the current peace talks. Armenia should discontinue its armed provocations and, instead, demonstrate a political will and conclude that peace pact because doing so will bring long-lasting and long-needed peace to the Caucasus.

The conversation continued and turned to other matters of interest to both sides. Once it was over, Sahiba Gafarova left a signature in the memorial book.

Then, the delegation of the Azerbaijani Parliament were shown around the building of the Austrian Parliament.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis