There was a meeting of Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova with the officially visiting delegation led by Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye Numan Kurtulmuş on 12 July.

A face-to-face talk was held first, followed by the Head of the GNAT familiarising himself with the exhibits in the Heydar Aliyev Memorial Hall and leaving a heartfelt note to the memorial book. An enlarged meeting was held then.

Speaker Gafarova said she was pleased to welcome the Turkish delegation to the Azerbaijani Parliament and congratulated Mr Kurtulmuş on his election as Speaker of the GNAT, adding that the re-election of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the Turkish presidential election was welcomed with equal joy in Azerbaijan. Members of the Milli Mejlis were among the observers at these elections, by the way, she added.

The personal friendship of the leaders of our states was a major factor in the solidifying of our fraternity, unity and strategic alliance. The leaders of Azerbaijan and Türkiye signed the Shusha Declaration after the Patriotic War and, with that, the world at large once again witnessed the Azerbaijani-Turkish brotherhood, Mrs Gafarova was saying.

The two states and peoples are forever side by side both in joy and sorrow, which Azerbaijan demonstrated only too clearly again with her brotherly aid when an earthquake struck Türkiye.

Mrs Gafarova recalled 2023 having been declared the Heydar Aliyev Year in Azerbaijan and praised the Turkish delegation’s participation in the May session of the Milli Majlis that had honoured the centenary of Grand Leader Heydar Aliyev – the participation that was all the more so remarkable as that was the time of election in Türkiye.

We have extensive inter-parliamentary connexions that happen to be as strong as the links in all the other areas, according to Mrs Gafarova. The two legislatures co-operate fruitfully, both bilaterally and in international organisations. Besides, there are close ties between parliamentary committees and friendship groups. We trust, Madam Chair continued, that the co-operation pact that the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan and the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye inked in April this year is going to contribute to the progress of our relations. This agreement is an important mechanism with which to carry into life the paragraph of the Shusha Declaration concerning inter-parliamentary co-operation and syncing the Azerbaijani-Turkish alliance in the parliamentary dimension.

Then, Sahiba Gafarova told the guests of the sweeping building and restoration work in the de-occupied provinces and the progress of the peace process. She also said she was certain that Armenia would take the existing realia into account and merit Azerbaijan’s peace initiative as it should.

Numan Kurtulmuş expressed satisfaction with his first visit to Azerbaijan as GNAT Speaker, adding that the Azerbaijani State and its nation were going through an important period of their history and that Azerbaijan’s having freed her lands from the 30-year-long occupation was a historic victory and the sign of our strength in the South Caucasus.

Türkiye, too, is moving on towards important goals having negotiated a remarkable path of progress over the 100 years past, according to Mr Kurtulmuş. He extolled the fraternal support of Azerbaijan and her people during the February earthquake in Türkiye. Azerbaijan, as always, did not leave Türkiye of brotherly assistance.

Other matters of shared interest were brought up as the conversation carried on.

After the meeting was over, the delegations posed together for a commemorative photo.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis